Meteor
by ZERO-xxx
Summary: Meteor showers always meant that something good was going to happen. That is what Metagross learned from its trainer and partner, Steven. So it will wait, watching every single meteor shower. A story about the bond and adventures Steven and Metagross share together over the years, from their first meeting to winning the championship, to realizing that life is precious.
1. First Encounter

**A/N **Reupload because I want to give the Pokemon section of FFN another shot. So this is a character study revolving around Steven and the bond he shares with Metagross. I was so inspired by some fanart I saw floating around that I just had to write a fic for it. Not sure how long this is going to be.

If you like Steven, my hope is that you will like this fic :)

Enjoy!

* * *

**Meteor**

**Chapter 1 - Encounter**

A gentle breeze blew past a metagross as it overlooked a steep cliff. Its cold, hard exterior caught the last rays of the sun that sunk beyond the horizon. The steel that covered its body glinted despite the dulled appearance it had if one were to look closer. Many hard fought battles nicked and dulled its armor, but that did not wear out the metagross' spirit.

In fact, each battle scar it held was a source of pride for the lumbering steel-type pokemon.

Its red eyes looked out towards the vast open ocean before it. The skies above the ocean were quickly darkening. The brilliant orange and pink hues that had painted the sky disappearing before its eyes. Metagross continued to wait, expectantly scanning the skies.

Waiting.

Waiting.

And waiting - just as it had been all these years.

Then suddenly -

A quick streak of light crossed the night sky. Another one followed, then another, and very soon, it was a brilliant light display.

_"I think...those are called meteors?"_ The familiar voice belonging to a child echoed in its head.

It was as beautiful as it could remember it being. These meteors…

_"It's quite beautiful, isn't it?"_ It could hear another voice belonging to an older teenager. It was the same boy as the younger child. That same familiar voice that Metagross had grown up side by side with.

Metagross stood at the edge of the steep cliff overlooking the ocean. It continued to stare out at the night sky, taking in the wondrous sight of the celestial event.

_"Metagross…"_ It could hear the all too familiar voice again, calling out its name.

It was not a difficult task for the hyper intelligent pokemon to go back and recollect its memories. Especially about the most important human in its life.

Its very first and only trainer, and friend.

_"...Are you enjoying the meteor shower? You always seemed to like watching them."_

Metagross could envision its trainer as his silhouetted figure came up alongside it.

A gentle hand adorned with steel rings came up to rest on one of Metagross' large arms. A smile, often times described as "handsome" by the other humans around him, decorated his face. His sharp eyes softened beneath wispy teal colored bangs as he looked to his beloved pokemon partner.

Yes, Metagross could picture its trainer as if it saw him yesterday.

_Steven._

* * *

"Are you scared…?"

The young boy asked a very simple question to a glowing red eye that remained unmoving in the small crevice. A question that was perhaps better reserved for himself since he was terrified at the ominous red eye that was staring back at him. Not to mention on top of that, he was lost in the cave system beside Rustboro.

His small hands trembled as he tightly held onto his schoolbag.

He had been inside this cave system multiple times, despite his father's warnings not to go exploring it. However, the young boy enjoyed traversing the rough terrain and finding rocks or other small treasures that he could bring back home. This time, he found himself wishing that he had listened to his father.

There were wild pokemon in these caves, but most of them were whismurs and they never bothered anyone. Though, this was the first time the boy encountered a rare pokemon like the one hiding before him.

He wondered if he should make a run for it, darting his eyes over to the steep path where he had fallen down from. The option was quickly dismissed. He was not very fast and the mystery pokemon would most likely catch up to him easily. In that same breath, the small boy was not even sure how mobile this mystery pokemon was.

He set down his school bag cautiously and pulled out some pokeblocks that he had made during class that day. He was hoping to leave them scattered around the forest as food for the wild pokemon, but he figured that now was the time to use them.

Carefully, he set down a pink block a few feet in front of him and slowly backed away. A frightened gasp escaped him when he saw the mystery pokemon suddenly dart out from its crevice and zoom towards the delicious treat. The boy fell back and watched in a mixture of amazement and curiosity as he finally saw the full figure of the pokemon.

It hovered over the ground. He had learned in school that some pokemon were capable of floating by utilizing the earth's magnetic field and he assumed that the strange pokemon in front of him was doing just that. The more he stared at it, the more it began to look like an arm. It flexed the steel tips at the other end of its body in a happy manner as it finished up the tasty morsel and expectantly looked towards the young boy for another one.

"...You must be hungry," he thought aloud as he fumbled with another pokeblock. This time, he held the block in between his fingers, coaxing the steel type pokemon to come towards him.

It floated over and scarfed down the treat through its claws.

A nervous smile graced the youth's round face as the pokemon ate out of his outstretched hand. Despite the freakish appearance of the floating steel arm, he began smiling at it as he kept feeding it more pokeblocks. Soon, he felt more at ease with it, but by then he realized that he had run out of the tasty morsels.

"I - I'm sorry...I don't have anymore," Steven stammered nervously, hoping that the pokemon would not retaliate against him for running out of food. "I can bring more tomorrow if you'd like!"

The pokemon did not seem to show any malice towards him at the lack of food. Rather, it appeared grateful as it happily zoomed once around the young boy and came to rest beside his shoulder, nuzzling itself against his cheek. At the rather intimate gesture, Steven smiled sheepishly at it. It seemed friendly enough.

"...Could you help me get out of here? I fell down from the higher paths and I don't know how to get back up."

The wild pokemon made a sort of odd, mechanical noise that was reminiscent of a growl in response. It looked to the young boy, then towards a direction that appeared to go further into the cave network. It did this several times until the boy understood what it was trying to say.

"Y...You want me to follow you? I don't know…" he mumbled, unsure if he should follow his sense of direction or trust the wild pokemon. It appeared trustworthy enough, but it could be leading him into a trap.

He stared at the glowing red eye, trying to sense if there was any ill-intent.

It made a high pitched chattering noise, urging the boy to follow it.

Apprehensively, the boy decided that the small floating pokemon meant no harm and he took his chances.

The caves were not too dark to navigate, but it was still hard to see with a flashlight that was running out of power. The flashlight dimmed gradually as he walked on and his fears resurfaced.

Here he was, following a strange wild pokemon through a cave system that his father had strongly advised him to avoid. If he were to fall victim to this pokemon or to the cave's hidden uncertainties, he had no way to protect himself or to call for help.

His worries were quelled just as the light from his small flashlight went out. The young boy spotted a sliver of light up ahead. His round eyes flashed in excitement when he realized that he was back near the entrance of the cave. He was home free.

In his blind excitement, he ran forward past the wild pokemon that helped him out. Fresh air met his lungs and he giggled happily as he exited the cave. "Thank goodness!" he exclaimed as he sighed in relief. He turned around, hoping to see the strange steel pokemon behind him, but his expression fell slightly at the revelation that he was alone.

The pokemon was gone.

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**A/N **Reviews are greatly appreciated!

-ZERO-


	2. Alone

**Meteor**

**Chapter 2 - Alone**

* * *

Steven found himself going back to the cave everyday after school. He had a burning desire to meet the wild pokemon once again, despite his father finding out about his previous trip through the cave.

He made sure to carry a fresh bag of pokeblocks in his school bag everyday, carrying out his plan to lure the wild pokemon out. He left a few pokeblocks out at the entrance of the cave. The first day he got nothing, but the second day, he began attracting the local whismurs. Steven did not have the heart to chase them away as they fed on the treats he had left, so he dejectedly stayed back and watched.

This continued for a full week and soon the young boy began to wonder if the steel pokemon was still in the cave.

It was on the evening right before another week of school. Steven decidedly made one more trip to the cave in a final attempt to locate the wild pokemon. He made sure to sneak out of his house undetected, dodging the servants and most importantly of all, making sure his father did not find out.

His small fist clenched around a pokeball that he had been carrying with him. At first, he was unsure if he should even use it on the pokemon should he see it again, but he began reasoning with himself. He figured if he was going through this much trouble to meet one pokemon, he should try to catch it.

Steven lingered by the mouth of the cave, languidly walking back and forth. With each step, a plan slowly formulated in his head. He would return back to the area where he had last encountered the wild pokemon. Surely it would be there or in the surrounding area.

With a solid grasp of where he needed to go, Steven started walking into the cave and took out his pocket flashlight. It illuminated the path ahead of him and he walked, making sure he was not agitating the bedrock and the other wild pokemon in the cave. He mentally kept track of each twist and turn of the dark cave, confident in his sense of direction.

In no time wasted, Steven found himself back at the small crevice. He looked around, carefully swiveling his flashlight back and forth over the cavern walls and up towards the ceiling. The beam narrowly missed a cluster of wild zubats that were sleeping and Steven drew in a sharp breath, widening his eyes before relaxing his body when the zubats did not stir.

Steven narrowed his eyes in growing disappointment as he continued to search the area.

Nothing.

He wandered a bit more off the initial path he took. Steven kept his eyes peeled, hoping to see that odd glint of white steel somewhere. Eventually, his search brought him to an open cliffside. The skies were dark, but he could still see the route below thanks to the lights from nearby Rustboro.

Steven looked out to the ocean out in front of him and let his shoulders drop with a sigh. He decided to give up. It was far too late and he was sure to receive an earful from his father upon returning.

Before Steven turned to leave, he caught a peculiar sight in the night sky. With wide eyes, he spun back around.

Another streak of light crossed the sky, followed by another, and Steven's mouth dropped open at the beautiful sight presented before him. There were dozens, if not hundreds, of streaks of light that now illuminated the sky. He let out a soft gasp and ended up falling back in sheer awe.

"A shooting star…?" he wondered aloud, but quickly shook his head. He had learned the correct scientific term for them in school and he cupped his chin in thought. "No, no…" he muttered, "uhm - a meteor...shower?"

Lost in his thoughts, Steven failed to realize another entity floating in to join him.

"I think...those are called meteors?"

As if answering his rhetorical question, a mechanical chiming noise followed. Steven jumped at the sudden sound, only to relax when he saw that it was the strange wild pokemon that had helped him out of the cave.

His eyes remained wide out of disbelief.

"...I - It's you!" he blurted out nervously. Steven quickly fumbled through his backpack. The bag tipped over, spilling out its contents including the pokeball. "Uhm, I know you really seemed to like these pokeblocks I made last time, so I made you some more!" Sheepishly, Steven fished out the small pouch of pokeblocks and opened it up. "I had more...but the whismurs around here ate most of them," he laughed shyly.

The small steel pokemon inspected the pouch Steven held and it helped itself. Its red eye closed in visible enjoyment as Steven poured out the rest of the blocks onto his hand.

"I...tried to find out what pokemon you were," Steven said as it ate. "But I couldn't really find anything in my books that matched your description. You seem like a beldum...but you're not really the color that most other beldums are." His eyes ran over the platinum white body the small pokemon had. His brow furrowed in confusion. "You...are a beldum, right?"

The floating pokemon stopped eating and let out the same mechanical growl, confirming Steven's guess.

His eyes lit up. "Really?" He gasped in excitement. "Then, thank you Beldum for leading me out of the cave the other day," he said, "I came back hoping to see you again, but I couldn't find you until now." Steven laughed nervously as he watched the beldum eat the very last pokeblock.

Beldum zipped around Steven, candidly showing how appreciative it was for the food. This earned it a laugh from the little boy.

"I can bring you more, every day!" Steven told it with a broad smile. His gaze shyly drifted to the side. "Would I...need to come here again? Will you be here for me?"

Beldum made a small noise in agreement and Steven smiled ear-to-ear.

The meteor shower ended, but Steven paid no mind because he was too fixated on his new friend. Being able to befriend a wild pokemon was a cause for celebration. Steven always had an interest in training pokemon, but he never quite found one that got his attention like Beldum did.

Suddenly, he widened his eyes as if coming into a slight panic. "I should probably go! My dad..." he muttered frantically, quickly collecting his belongings. Steven hoisted the heavy backpack up to his shoulders. He flashed the small pokemon a broad grin, despite his hurriedness to leave. "Then, I'll be back tomorrow in the afternoon with a whole bunch of fresh pokeblocks for you! Bye, Beldum!"

Beldum looked on as the little boy sprinted away. It felt saddened that the human who fed and spoke to it was going so soon and suddenly.

"Oh -! Before I go." Steven stopped in his tracks and turned around to face the oddly colored beldum again. He smiled warmly at it. "My name's Steven. I forgot to introduce myself earlier."

_Steven._

Beldum watched until Steven disappeared into the darkness of the cave. It hovered in place for a while, wondering if it should try to follow him out. Steven might get lost again.

Its red eye lowered.

Beldum decided against it after a moment of pondering. Steven appeared confident enough as he left.

It was then that Beldum realized it was alone once more.

Beldum slowly floated back towards its favorite crevice, intent on settling in for the night. It caught sight of something shiny on the ground before it left the cliff. The mysterious glint caused it to stop. It curiously got closer and illuminated by the bright full moon was a lone pokeball on the ground.

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**A/N **Thanks for all the support so far! Just a reminder that this fic is on AO3 as well.

_Review replies: _

**Wolflyn** \- Thank you so much for this! I figured they were a troll review and it's a shame that you can't remove signed reviews from your fics, but oh well. Your review made up for it _and_ the silence I was getting on this haha. Thank you so much for the thought-out review! I just want to share the Steven love and I'm so glad to see other Steven fans still around :) I agree, food is always a great way to bond with anyone, human or pokemon! :D

-ZERO-


	3. Weakness

**Meteor**

**Chapter 3 - Weakness**

* * *

Beldum found him peculiar.

Willing to traverse the caves everyday, Steven kept returning to it without fail. Each time with a fresh batch of pokeblocks and with a broad smile on his face that only grew more relaxed and genuine as the days went on.

"Have you ever left this cave, Beldum?" Steven suddenly asked it one day as it ate.

Beldum did not respond and the young boy took it as a confirmation of his suspicions.

Steven wrinkled his brow. "...Do you want to leave?"

The beldum seemed to perk up at the sound of his proposition.

"It must get lonely in the cave by yourself right? I mean, there are whismurs, but they don't seem very friendly." Steven prodded around gently with his questions, careful not to offend the pokemon. He figured the reason why Beldum took up roost in the small crevice was because it was reclusive.

Beldum backed away slightly, openly displaying its vulnerability towards the topic.

Steven took notice. He tightened his lips, thinking, as he looked out towards the horizon. The cliff where he had shared the meteor shower viewing with Beldum was an ideal place to hang out in secret. It was tucked away in the mountainside, hidden, but open enough for them to view everything nearby.

As Steven stared out at the vast open world, an idea began clicking within him. "Why don't we explore the world together, Beldum?" he exclaimed.

Beldum looked at the boy, widening its eye as it was shocked by the idea.

"You can see what's outside of this cave! There's a whole world out there and many different pokemon to meet! You wouldn't have to be lonely anymore!" Steven leaned in, his eyes beaming with excitement.

Beldum remained apprehensive. It saw Steven's innocent excitement, but it was not convinced. The cave was where it felt safe and where it could hide if something were to scare it. If it were to venture outside, there would be no safe places to hide. Nowhere to call home.

Steven's heart hammered away in his chest as he carefully watched Beldum floating motionless in the air. Sensing its apprehension, Steven piped up, finishing off his suggestion. "...If it makes you feel any better...we could go together!"

_Together._

It flickered its red eye over to Steven, then to the ground.

Steven waited quietly, staring intensely at it as he waited for an answer. His round face soon lit up in joy when he saw the pokemon float closer towards him, chiming happily.

Communication with Beldum came easily to Steven, despite it having no visible facial features to present its emotions on - or discernable body parts for that matter. It seemed to understand him easily as well, although Steven attributed it to its incredible intelligence.

"Oh!" Steven suddenly exclaimed as he reached inside his backpack. His brow immediately furrowed in visible confusion when he failed to find whatever it was he was looking for in his bag. He turned to Beldum sheepishly laughing. "Never mind," he said. "I - I guess I didn't bring it with me."

He had been looking for the pokeball he had received from the trainer's school. It was a year-long project assigned to each student. Catch a pokemon and train it, simple enough. He did not want to fail the project. Still, Steven did not have the heart to capture Beldum. He never quite agreed with the idea of forcefully capturing wild pokemon and he feared that Beldum had no personal desire to become his partner.

This was fine to him, however. He smiled at Beldum as he hoisted his backpack up onto his shoulders. It seemed perfectly happy to follow him, even without a pokeball. What was the need for it?

Beldum quickly glanced over to the side where it had hidden the pokeball the young boy dropped a few days ago. It had a feeling that Steven was looking for it earlier. Beldum made no effort to return the item though. Although the prospect of travel and seeing the outside world intrigued it, it was not quite sure if it wanted to belong to a trainer. But perhaps, if that trainer was Steven, it would not be too bad.

They trekked through the winding tunnels of the cave, Steven easily being able to find his way back to the entrance by now.

"See?" Steven grinned broadly as he held his arm out. "It's not so bad, right?" he asked Beldum as it floated out of the cave. It was practically glued to Steven's side. "It's okay. Take your time," he reassured with a gentle tone of voice.

"Oh, I didn't expect anyone to be here."

The sudden presence of a voice jolted both Steven and Beldum. They turned to the source and saw that it was a boy. He was taller and older than Steven with a haughty smirk on his face as he approached the two.

Beldum felt Steven shrink slightly at the older boy's intimidating presence.

Without a word, Steven tried to leave, but was stopped by the taller boy.

"Hey! Woah, you know what it means when you meet eyes with another trainer, right? You're not thinking of running away, are you Kid?"

Steven stammered fearfully. "I - I'm sorry, but I'm...I'm not a trainer!"

The boy glared, his eyes a menacing green. "Whaddya mean?" he spat out, offended. "Isn't that your pokemon behind you?"

"Huh…? Erm, n - no, not technically -" Steven stammered, growing flustered. He was not yet taught in battling and etiquettes surrounding the sport.

Escalating the situation, the green-eyed boy smirked and pulled out a pokeball. "Well then, if it's not yours, then that means it's up for grabs! I came here lookin' for rare pokemon anyways and whatever that thing is that's following you seems to be rare. I've never seen anything like it!" He tossed his pokeball, sending out his pokemon. "Go, Charizard!"

Seeing the intimidating, dragon-like pokemon, Steven knew that he had to retreat. This boy was serious in his intent to battle him and Beldum.

Confidently, the boy smirked. "If you don't want to be in a battle that badly, then why don't you just give up that pokemon like a good little boy and go back running to your mommy? From the looks of it, you've never been in a battle in your life!"

Steven, wide-eyed in terror with his tiny, eight-year old body shaking, blanked out and was petrified to the spot. He wanted to run, but he also did not want to endanger Beldum. It could possibly run away with him -

"Since it looks like you're a new trainer, here's a word of advice," the trainer sneered. "You'll never amount to anything being this weak. I'll spare you a battle this time, kid, but that beldum is mine! Go, Charizard! Use Tackle!"

Before either of them could react, the charizard flew towards them and used its body to separate Beldum from Steven.

Steven flew back and fell to the ground with a sharp cry. He pushed himself up off the ground as he looked on in horror at Beldum being relentlessly attacked. "Stop!" he cried out, angry tears welling up in his teal eyes. "You're hurting it!"

Steven's body moved on its own. His short legs broke into a desperate sprint as he saw Beldum being dealt the final blow with a scorching flamethrower attack. The attack left scorch marks on its platinum white body as Beldum fell to the ground with a low pained cry.

It was Beldum's first ever encounter with a pokemon so terrifying and powerful. Fear coarse through its body as it came close to passing out. Was it a mistake venturing out?

Was it a mistake trusting Steven?

"Alright, now you're mine!" The trainer took out an empty pokeball and tossed it. The ball flew straight towards the defeated beldum before it was deflected by a small hand.

"No!" Steven cried out as he swatted it away just before it could touch Beldum. He crouched protectively in front of the injured pokemon. Tears flowed down his round cheeks as he desperately tried to shield it with his own body.

"Hey, what gives!?" the trainer roared.

"You're hurting it!" Steven cried harder, upset at what was unfolding around him.

The trainer grit his teeth and stomped over. He glared venomously down at Steven before he reached down to pick him up by the front of his shirt.

Steven felt the jarring impact of a punch being thrown across his face. He fell to the ground like a ragdoll. His entire mouth felt numb and he coughed miserably. Specks of blood flew from his mouth and onto the ground. The pain petrified his whole body as his ears rang.

"I won fair and square! This pokemon belongs to me now!" he shouted, giving very little care to how badly he had hurt a boy smaller than him.

Steven managed to push himself up off the ground slowly. He grit his teeth, tears still flowing from his eyes as he rushed towards the other boy. His small fists were raised high above his head with every intent to strike him, only to be shoved down easily.

He fell to the ground. "Don't -" he weakly coughed out. "Don't take Beldum. It doesn't … want to go…!" By now his voice lost its vigor and power. Steven was not even sure if the other boy could hear him. He clenched his fist over the dry dirt, disregarding the abrasions on his hands.

He felt powerless and utterly pathetic.

"Don't you get it? There are rules to this sort of thing," the trainer growled out, annoyed by Steven's tenacity. "I won this beldum fair and square. You're the one that was too stupid to let it roam around without a pokeball."

Steven braced himself for another physical assault, but instead widened his eyes in surprise. "Beldum…?" he whispered when Beldum flew in front, protecting him from the trainer and his charizard.

Its red eye narrowed, glaring up at the aggressive trainer with an injurious anger. It was barely holding itself up. It looked as if it were struggling to even stay hovering above the ground as it let out a threatening growl.

Afraid of what further harm may come to the beldum, Steven yelled. "Please, go Beldum! Run away! I'll be okay!"

Beldum looked back at Steven. Despite the mixture of terror and frantic desperation etched upon his round, battered face, Beldum saw nothing, but bravery. It did not know too many humans in the first place throughout the course of its short life, but it felt moved to its core. Steven protected it from being captured. He thought of Beldum as more than just a mere pokemon. He was a friend.

And now it was time for Beldum to repay its friend's kindness.

Steven took notice of Beldum's determination. Although he was touched that it was still willing to protect him, he remained fearful.

"Stubborn pest," the trainer hissed under his breath. He made a move to command his charizard to deal the final blow to the beldum. He had no regards to how Steven lay in the area of the incoming fire attack. "Go, Charizard! Flame -!"

"- Stop right there, young man!"

Steven felt his breath hitch in his throat. He heard the authoritative sound of a female voice cutting into the tense situation. A group of officers sprinted over and surrounded the charizard and its trainer.

"You must be Steven."

Steven felt a gentle touch on his shoulder. He peered over and saw a young female officer smiling kindly at him.

"Your father has been worried sick," she informed him.

"My dad…?" Steven asked, quickly wiping away his tears with the dirtied white sleeve of his dress shirt.

"I'll take you back to the city." She crouched down in front of him, allowing the young boy to climb onto her back.

He suddenly widened his eyes. "Wait! Beldum -!" he cried out, looking back at the injured pokemon.

The officer reassured him. "A nurse from the pokemon center will be here for it. Look. They're just up ahead."

Sure enough, Steven saw a frantic pink haired nurse rush over with two chanseys keeping at her heels closely. He kept his eyes on them as they ran up to the beldum's side, beginning an emergency treatment for it.

"It'll be okay," the officer said, smiling delicately in order to comfort him. "You can visit it back at the pokemon center later, but first, let's get you back to your father."

Steven nodded shyly, grateful for the aid when it came.

An angry slew of words could be heard from the older boy as the officers confronted him.

"The brat was asking for it!" he shouted arrogantly. "He shouldn't have a pokemon if he's too pathetic to handle a battle!"

The sheer feeling of terror, helplessness, and inability to do anything to protect the pokemon that had trusted him with its safety, it all came crashing down on him. He put Beldum in danger.

Beldum got hurt because of him.

Steven shrunk into the officer's back, hiding his face against her shoulder. He tightly pressed his lips together, fighting back the urge to cry again. A stifled whimper escaped him and he hoped that the officer did not hear it.


	4. Missing

**Meteor**

Chapter 4 - Missing

* * *

The sharp sting of a disinfectant wipe being run over his minor abrasions caused Steven to flinch involuntarily. He received an empathetic apology from the nurse treating him as he applied a bandage over the injury on his cheek.

"And all done!" the nurse exclaimed, smiling at Steven. "You're such a brave boy! Thank you for sitting still this whole time!"

Still somewhat shaken up by the ordeal he went through a few hours ago, Steven simply nodded with a stiff smile. It was hard to forget the heartbreaking sight of Beldum getting the brunt of the charizard's attacks and difficult to ignore the feeling of complete helplessness he went through as he could only watch.

As the nurse stepped off to the side to clean up, Steven saw the door to the examination room fly open. His father stood in the doorway. His eyes were wide with worry.

"Oh my -" he gasped, rushing forth to capture his son in a tight embrace. "Steven! You don't know how worried I was when the police told me of what happened!"

Hearing the deep concern within his father's voice, Steven could not help, but cry. Little beads of tears ran down his soft cheeks as he wept. "I - I'm sorry, Daddy…" He sniffled. "I know I shouldn't have been at that cave b - but -"

"- I told you it's dangerous out there!" He suddenly pulled away to grab at Steven's small shoulders and look him directly in the eyes. "Do you know what would have happened if someone didn't see you getting harassed by that pokemon trainer?"

The young boy, feeling frightened by the sudden change in his father's tone, remained speechless. His mouth hanging open in shock.

Joseph, realizing that his tone had taken on an angrier mood, widened his gray eyes slightly and promptly let go of his son's shoulders. He stepped back, shaking his head dismissively. "I - I'm sorry, Steven." His thin lips opened to speak once more, but he hesitated and he eventually chose not to say anything further on the matter. Wearily, he whispered, "...let's just get you home. I'm sure it's been a long day for you."

Steven brought his arm up and wiped away the loose tears from his face with the back of his dirtied sleeve. His soft teal eyes took on a bolder look as he asked cautiously, "before we go home, can I go to the pokemon center?"

Wrinkling his brow in confusion, Joseph cocked his head to the side.

Fidgeting nervously with his thumbs, Steven looked down at his lap and explained. "There...was a pokemon... it got hurt while protecting me and I need to see if it's going to be okay!" Steven could see the apprehension in his father's eyes.

He eventually gave in, unable to reject his son's request when he looked so adamant about it. "Alright," he said after a deep sigh. "Let's go visit together. It is proper to thank the pokemon that helped you after all."

Steven's eyes lit up at the sight of his father's warm smile. He grinned happily as he took his father's outstretched hand.

The two left the hospital and arrived at the pokemon center that was just across the street. The smile Steven wore quickly dropped upon hearing the pokemon center's nurse inform them of her examination results on Beldum.

"I'm afraid it will take some time before we can properly heal Beldum to full health," the pink haired nurse stated as she bowed her head slightly. "It's a harder challenge to heal pokemon made of inorganic materials. You see, Beldum's not made of the same materials as you or I, or a pokemon like Chansey."

The chansey next to the nurse chimed in, in agreement.

Steven nodded slowly, trying to mask his growing sadness. "W - Will Beldum be okay...soon, Nurse Joy?" he asked in a soft voice, afraid of her answer.

She smiled reassuringly. "Yes."

A wave of relief swept over him.

"But," she continued, "it will take time. Normally pokemon can be healed in a few hours, but since Beldum is also a relatively rare species, we had to contact the pokemon professor in Littleroot to come and take a look first before we proceed with any major treatment options. We wouldn't want to harm it any further." Her normally bright blue eyes dulled at the sight of Steven's crestfallen expression. "I'm sorry," she apologized with a slight bow.

Joseph could also see how the news affected his son and he gently took his hand again. "I'm sorry as well, Steven." He turned his attention towards Nurse Joy. "May he come visit Beldum tomorrow? Just to check up on its condition."

Steven raised his head slightly at the proposition, hopeful.

The nurse smiled. "Yes, of course. If you come by after school, I'll make sure you can have a few minutes to see Beldum," she addressed Steven, who eagerly nodded in response.

Needless to say, Steven had trouble sleeping that night and ended up going to school the next day exhausted. He had barely any sense remaining to concentrate properly on his lessons. All he could do was impatiently wait for dismissal and wish that he could run faster as he sprinted with all his might over to the pokemon center later that afternoon.

He huffed, panting heavily, nearly running into the automatic sliding doors that almost did not open in time for him. Steven's clammy hands held on tight to the handle of his schoolbag as he ran straight up to the front desk, where Nurse Joy greeted him. Recognizing him from yesterday, she immediately led the jittery young boy towards the room where Beldum was being treated.

"Please! You'll be okay, right Torchic?"

Steven's attention went towards a hospital stretcher that hurtled down the hall beside him and Nurse Joy. A chansey was pushing it with all her might with the worried trainer running alongside the stretcher where the ailing fire-type pokemon lay. It was only a quick glimpse, but seeing the battered torchic suddenly reminded Steven of the way Beldum was brutally attacked by the charizard.

The intrepid anxiety he felt was replaced with dread and reluctance.

Images of the once cheerful, healthy Beldum being hooked up to machines, unable to get up from its bed, and a lifeless look in its eye was something Steven was not looking forward to. It was something that he knew far too well and suddenly the images of Beldum began to melt away. In its place were the familiar scenes of a woman with a striking resemblance to Steven himself - soft teal hair with kind teal eyes.

A frail body constantly hooked up to machines with weary eyes that appeared to grow dimmer every time he saw her until one day she disappeared completely.

_"She passed away due to complications from child birth. We tried our best, Joseph. I'm sorry. She fought hard these past five years."_

It was his mother.

He heard something that he was not meant to hear and Steven could still remember how heavily he cried that night, tormented by the guilt he felt.

The images of his mother in the hospital and his imagination of Beldum slowly melded together into a horrifying cycle. His mother was in pain because of him.

Beldum was in pain because of him. It was all his fault.

"And we're here -!" Nurse Joy's cheerful voice directed him back to the current time.

"- Sorry!" Steven exclaimed suddenly just as he saw Nurse Joy reach for the door knob. He kept his head down, afraid to even look at the closed door. "I - I'm sorry, Nurse Joy. I can't -" His hands trembled slightly as he held them together out in front of him. "I'm sorry," he squeaked out again as he turned sharply on his heels and ran out without another word.

As he ran, he could hear the young nurse call out his name in an attempt to stop him, but Steven kept going. His heart pounded against his chest as he ran down the hall and out of the pokemon center.

He desperately squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the haunting memories that plagued his mind. As he ran, Steven clutched at his head as if he were in pain. "It's all my fault," he cried softly, "I'm sorry."

* * *

There was a small noise that stirred Beldum awake. Its red eye opened just a crack, weakly, as it attempted to see what was happening around it. It could hear the muffled, distant voices of humans talking.

"...Thank you for coming, Professor…"

"...Not a problem. My assistant and I will do our best to consult you on the best way to treat your injured pokemon. Is the beldum in here?"

"...Yes…"

Beldum had to close its eye again and upon reopening it, it saw a stern looking elderly man staring back down at it. Too weak to move, it simply let out a squeak vocally.

"There, there," the pink haired nurse said with a reassuring stroke on its head. "We're all here to help you, Beldum."

Despite the comforting touch and words, Beldum felt uneasy. It had never been around this many humans at once and in such a foreign environment.

As it heard the three humans in the room muttering and conversing with one another, Beldum quietly looked around for a fourth - for a smaller, fragile young boy with soft silvery teal hair and a shy smile.

_Steven._

Beldum chimed sadly when it caught no sight of him. Its red eye looked away, disappointed.

"...I was worried earlier. I'm sorry...the boy that was with this beldum."

It perked up at the indirect mention of Steven. Beldum looked towards the female nurse.

"...He was so eager to visit Beldum yesterday, but today as soon as I got to this room, he ran out. I've heard that he's a rather reclusive boy, so I'm worried about how he's taking all this. His behavior was not normal."

The steel-type pokemon chimed again, catching the attention of everyone in the room. It desperately wanted to see Steven.

"Nurse Joy, you said that this beldum is still a "wild" pokemon? It hasn't been tamed by a pokeball?" the young teenager in the room asked. His wide brown eyes almost appeared to twinkle in excitement, which he tried to hide given the somber mood encompassing the room.

She nodded. "That is correct. Steven, the boy that it was with, didn't want to catch it."

"But he managed to befriend it enough for it to trust him. ...Fascinating," the teen murmured as he held his chin in deep thought.

The elderly professor sighed tiredly. "Enough, Birch. I know you're working on your dissertation right now, but could you give me a hand with this beldum? The faster we finish our analysis, the sooner Nurse Joy can start the treatment."

"R - Right! I'm sorry -!"

In the midst of the teen's apology, the door to the room opened, revealing Joseph.

"Oh! Mr. Stone! What brings you here so suddenly?" Nurse Joy asked, greeting him with a polite bow.

Joseph gave her a confused look, followed by a quick sweep of the room with his eyes. His expression fell slightly. "Is...Steven not here with you?"

The mood in the room suddenly became heavy.

Wrinkling her brow in deep concern, Nurse Joy responded. "No, Mr. Stone. I thought he would be back home. He actually ran out a few hours ago and I assumed he went home. I - I thought he was with you."

The blood from his face appeared to drain. After a few seconds of pause, he parted his lips slightly. "Oh dear -" Joseph breathed before rushing out without another word.

* * *

**A/N **The next chapter will break hearts, I hope.

Thank you all so much for the reviews! To the **Guest** reviewer and also **1oreo1**

I'm also thinking about writing a story similar to this, but for Cynthia since she's also my other favorite champion. I feel like both her and Steven are some of the more developed champions in terms of character and I think her story of her rise to the top would be a very interesting one to try and write. :) Let me know what you think!

-ZERO-


	5. A Father's Love

**A/N **Thank you all so much for the support! I honestly really didn't think I'd get anyone reading this since Steven's not that popular in the mainstream fandom. So it really warms my heart knowing that I can share the love for him with others!

**Meteor**

**Chapter 5 - A Father's Love**

* * *

The bleak, featureless darkness that would normally scare children around Steven's age, only provided him with comfort. He liked the feeling of isolation and silence that the caves provided. It was why he liked going in them so much, aside from searching for rare stones within them.

Steven held himself, the white dress shirt of his school uniform doing almost nothing to keep him warm. He shivered, walking deeper into the depths of the cave. The cold drafts flowing through the dark cavern came in contact with his damp clothes and he sneezed.

It had started raining on his way over, soaking him to the bone. Steven was fine with it, but was wary about how dark the clouds appeared before he ducked into the cave. The rain did not bother him, but -

He heard a rumbling noise that sounded like it was coming from outside. It was muffled, but Steven still froze. With trembling hands, he managed to take out his small flashlight, hoping that a little light would ease his worries.

"Wa - _AHHH_!" he suddenly screamed.

He had lost his footing in an unpredictable split second.

The steep slope he tumbled down was unforgiving as Steven suffered multiple scrapes and bruises to his exposed legs and face. He rolled helplessly until he got to the bottom. His legs sustained the most damage, growing numb with pain. It was not until he tried to get up, that he realized just how badly he was hurt.

He let out a sharp cry as pain tore through his body. Steven laid there for a while, trying to stifle himself before attempting to pick himself up again. He slowly tried to push himself back up, fighting back tears, but felt the vicious pain shooting up again from his right leg. Steven whimpered behind tightly pressed lips as he managed to crawl towards his flashlight.

His small hands shook as he shined the beam of light down on his leg only to see it bent in an irregular manner with blood and dirt coating his pale skin. Steven's breathing grew erratic as he swiveled his flashlight in all directions, trying to figure out where he was and how to get out.

He knew he was definitely on a lower level of the cave, but he was uncertain as to his exact location. It was a place unfamiliar to him and therefore, he had no knowledge of how to leave it.

"H - Help…? Anyone…?" he cried out weakly at first. Steven whimpered again in pain as he tried to push himself up onto his feet. He stumbled and fell forward again with a cry. "Help…!" he shouted out, a little louder. "Help me!"

He clenched his teeth together at the silence. Steven trembled in fear as it began to dawn on him that he may not be found. No one knew he was in the cave and he had fallen down into an unknown area. On top of everything, he had broken his leg.

Steven sniffled as he desperately fought back tears, crawling and scooting across the dirty cavern floor on his stomach. He grunted with each exhaustive move, punctuated only with a sharp, stifled cry in pain as he agitated his broken leg. Hot tears began to form in his eyes.

"Help!" he called out again, crying heavily. "Anyone! Please! Help me -!"

Steven abruptly stopped at the sound of a low rumble, his eyes widening in terror. He let out a trembling gasp, afraid of the growing loud noise. It was not until it crescendoed into a thunderous crack did he scream.

It was thunder and the storm sounded as if it was directly above him.

Trapped in the darkness with only his flashlight as a source of light, Steven whimpered. He clapped both his hands over his ears and squeezed his eyes shut as he lay there in petrified terror.

"Help...me," he cried softly. "...Mommy...Daddy…"

The image of Beldum crossed his mind briefly and Steven gently opened up his swollen, tear ridden eyes. He parted his mouth to say its name, but stopped himself before he could.

* * *

When Joseph reached the mouth of the Rusturf cave, he stood there, shielding himself from the rain that was coming down in sheets. He felt chills. However, he had very little regard for the rain ruining his pinstripe suit as the only thing on his mind was to find his missing son.

Joseph had a hunch that his son was inside the Rusturf cave. He knew that Steven would sneak away to it after school. The dirtied clothes he came home in, with a handful of odd rocks were dead giveaways to the worried father and every night, he would warn Steven about going back to this cave system.

Of course, Steven never listened.

A flash of blinding light prompted the worried father to head into the cave. Not only was the lightning storm dangerous, but his son always hated loud noises. He was sure that his son was in here, paralyzed with fear by the thunder and undoubtedly crying. The mere image of it caused Joseph's heart to ache with pain.

He walked through the cave, somewhat familiar with its layout since his company had plans to do some work within it. It became darker the further he went. Joseph then noticed a dim aura of light emitting from one of the lower platforms. Before he went closer to investigate, he heard the softest sound of crying.

"Steven?" he called out. Joseph got closer and let out a trembling breath when he spotted his son lying at the bottom of a slope. "Steven!" Although difficult to slide down safely, Joseph managed to do so by staying low to the ground. He approached his son's crumpled figure. "Oh my - Steven! I'm here! I'm here," he repeated frantically as he ran towards him.

At the sound of his name, Steven took away his hands from his ears and peered over his shoulder. He saw his father running up to him and immediately cried out of relief. "Daddy," he whimpered as his father knelt down beside him.

Quickly assessing the situation, Joseph noticed Steven's broken leg and he carefully attempted to pick him up without agitating the injury. "I got you, Steven. I've got you, son," he breathed out.

Joseph draped the partially damp coat he wore over Steven's small form in an attempt to stop his shivering. "Let's get you to the hospital," he reassured as he hooked his arm underneath the young boy's frail legs.

Steven cried out in pain, but promptly made a great effort to stifle himself. His father took immediate notice of this.

He tightly closed his mouth, a frown forming at the sound of his son in pain. "I'm sorry, Steven. Daddy's got you, okay? Just hold on. I'll get both of us out."

The steep terrain proved to be a challenge to scale for Joseph as he felt his age catching up to him. His body did not move quite like it used to and he tried not to slip on the loose rocks. However, that proved to be another challenge as his dress shoes provided no grip or support when it came to terrain such as this.

After a near dangerous slip, Joseph decided it was best to stop and wait for help. He felt the need for urgency upon seeing his son's injuries, but he had put in a word to his bodyguards before he left the pokemon center. They should come to search for him in the Rusturf cave should he not return after some time.

Joseph was sure that help would arrive soon.

"We'll wait here for a bit, okay? You know Daddy's bodyguards? They know exactly where we are and they'll get us out in no time!" He smiled at his sniffling son, hoping that his words and actions would help reassure him, but it proved to be ineffective. Steven appeared to be distraught as he frowned through his tears.

Joseph 's face fell slightly at his inability to provide reassurance for his son. "Steven," he started as he reached out to wipe away the tears that streaked down his son's small round face. "Why did you run away from the pokemon center without a word? You know that's dangerous."

Steven sniffled, but remained silent as he averted his eyes from his father.

"Steven…" Joseph repeated in a sterner tone. "Haven't I told you before that you can't come into this cave? Why didn't you listen to your father?"

He was met with silence.

Joseph knew that shouting and yelling at Steven never worked for him. It caused him to shut everyone out completely for hours or sometimes even several days. However, his patience was wearing thin. His son kept putting himself into dangerous situations. While his eyes reflected the type of worry a parent would have for their child, Joseph found himself raising his voice in frustration.

"Steven, answer me when I am talking to you -!" Joseph grabbed his son's thin arm, only to receive a harsh retaliation from him.

"No!" Steven shouted as he tried to yank his arm away from his father's grip. "I don't want to talk to you!"

Joseph knew his son was brighter than most other children his age. He would always ask the most inquisitive of questions and show maturity beyond his age, but what he displayed right now was an uncharacteristic display of childishness.

"Steven!" Joseph's voice sharply punctuated the area. The way his son was behaving was only serving to fuel his grating nerves. He held onto Steven's arm, despite the young boy flailing and having very little regard to how injured his own body was. "You have to talk to me! ...I want to keep you safe, but I can't do that if you refuse to answer me!"

Confused by everything happening to him, Steven just grit his teeth and squirmed, trying to shake off his father.

At this, Joseph felt his emotions bubble up to a fiery zenith.

"What would your mother think if she saw you now!?"

As if he had cast a spell on Steven, he froze at the mere mention of his mother. Joseph, slowly realizing what he had said in the heat of the moment, gradually loosened his grip on Steven's arm as he himself fell back with widened eyes.

The two sat in the darkness completely silent.

His blind frustrations left him as quickly as they came. Joseph shook his head slowly and let out a trembling breath. His hands went up to his face and sat there silently, recollecting himself. After a brief second, Joseph raised his head to look at his son.

Steven appeared to be in just as much shock as he was. His small body was frozen to the spot. His teal eyes flickered with remorse as he tightly held his father's coat close.

It took another long period of silence before either of them spoke to each other.

"...I'm sorry, Daddy. I didn't mean to," Steven finally whispered tearfully.

Joseph sat there quietly, listening.

"I...didn't ...mean to. Please don't be angry," he repeated, sniffling as he cried. "Please don't leave me."

Confused by what his son was talking about, Joseph stared at his crying son before drawing out a tired sigh. "What are you talking about, Steven? You are my son. I would never leave you -"

"-...But...Mommy was angry with me too, right Daddy?"

Joseph felt his breath catch in his throat.

Steven's eyes watered once more. "She left because of me?" he squeaked out.

It was as if a sharp knife was driven into his chest upon hearing his son's heartbreaking words. He felt the prickling heat of tears in his eyes.

Steven wept, sniffling as his nose leaked. "It was...my fault. I made Mommy sick."

Joseph clenched his fists tightly, feeling the first tear roll down his face. His face contorted in anguish as he slowly began shaking his head. "No…" he whispered, his voice cracking as his tears flowed. "Steven…-"

Steven continued speaking as his breaths came out in short, stunted huffs as he choked on his own tears. "I...I made Mommy sick and n - now, I made Beldum get hurt! Beldum's angry at me too! It's going to go away just like Mommy did and I can't do anything! The hospital couldn't fix her -!"

He finally understood why his son ran away.

Steven stopped as soon as he was captured in his father's warm embrace. His cries were muffled as he blinked away the loose tears, surprised by his father's action.

"Steven, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry," Joseph whispered as he held his beloved son tightly in his arms. He let his silent tears fall. "I never meant to get angry with you. Mommy and I ...we love you very much."

Steven cried harder, feeling comfort in his father's embrace and words.

"We love you more than anything. My dear, Steven. Your foolish father," Joseph let out a breathy laugh that came out sounding like a scoff towards himself. "I just wanted to keep you safe. All this time, that's all I ever wanted." He gently tightened his arms around his son in a loving manner. "...I can't...bear to lose you just like how we lost Mommy."

Steven nodded against his father's shoulder.

"None of what happened was your fault, Steven. None of it. Not what happened to your mother or Beldum. Your mother loved seeing you every day when she was in the hospital. You made her days brighter and kept the smile on her face." Joseph chuckled light-heartedly as he pulled away slightly from Steven to get a look at his face. "You were her precious gemstone. Remember that?"

Steven giggled softly at his father. The mention of the endearing nickname his mother gave him put a smile on his face instantly.

Joseph smiled fondly down at his son, keeping a comforting hand on his head. "You're also -"

"- President Stone! Are you here?"

The familiar voice of his bodyguard calling out for him prompted Joseph to cut his sentence short. "Yes!" he called out, grabbing Steven's small flashlight and waving it around towards the slope where he had fallen. "We're right here! I'm with Steven! I'm at the light if you can see it!"

"Are you alright?"

Joseph let out a breath of relief upon seeing his bodyguard locate them. He smiled up at the other man and shouted back, "we're quite alright, but my son needs some help getting out. I believe his leg might be broken."

"Understood." His bodyguard turned back around and shouted to the others part of the rescue team. "I've found them! We need the paramedics down here ASAP! President Stone's son is injured!"

In a matter of seconds, a few paramedics appeared and they managed to find another, safer path down to the lower level where Joseph was with his son. He stood up as the skilled technicians tended to Steven and managed to lift him up onto a stretcher. A sigh of relief passed through his lips as he was guided out by his bodyguards.

Upon stepping outside, Joseph noticed that the rain had stopped and the skies were quickly clearing. He smiled up at the beautiful scenery unfolding in front of him and then at Steven, who was bravely holding back tears as he was getting checked and treated by the paramedics before they took him to the hospital.

His gray eyes softened at the sight of his son doing okay and he wiped away the remaining loose tears that hid within the small wrinkles near his eyes.

"You're also my precious gemstone too, Steven."

* * *

Steven wobbled uncomfortably as he attempted to find his balance with the crutches he had been given.

"It takes a while," the doctor remarked. "But you'll get the hang of it very soon."

Joseph watched his son struggling to put enough strength on his upper body in order to move and he turned back to the doctor worriedly. "And how long did you say he would need to be on them?"

"Six weeks. You can bring him back in three weeks if you'd like for us to see if he's healing faster than normal. Children his age tend to be a bit speedier with the healing process, so six weeks is just a rough estimate."

"I see. Thank you, we'll do that then."

As Steven heard his father work out his next appointment, he slowly moved around the room. He was getting the hang of it, but he found himself exhausted by the time he took only a few steps. Sourly, Steven began to realize that he could not go exploring in the Rusturf cave after school or any sort of exploring for that matter. It would be difficult to navigate a cave with a broken leg.

"Thank you, doctor," Joseph said as he finished up his conversation with her. "Let's say thank you to the kind doctor, Steven."

Steven gave a slight bow of his head. "Th - Thank you," he mumbled, earning him a smile from the doctor.

"Of course, sweetheart. Take it easy and no physical activity until that leg is healed up! Promise?"

"I promise."

Steven walked alongside his father out of the hospital. It was as if he was learning how to walk all over again.

Joseph caught him as he nearly fell over. "Just take it slow, son," he chuckled. "You know, these crutches may be hard to use, but they'll help with your strength. They'll help you become a better climber!"

A little sparkle crossed Steven's eyes at the mention of becoming stronger. He puffed up his cheeks a little as he pushed himself to walk a little faster without stumbling.

Joseph could only chuckle in amusement at his son's newfound determination.

As they exited the hospital, it was night time. Steven immediately found his eyes drawn to the pokemon center across the street. The spark in his eyes dimmed and he looked away, feeling guilt bubble up his throat again.

Joseph quickly took notice of this and placed a reassuring hand on Steven's shoulder. "Take your time, son," he said softly. He knelt down in front of his son and smiled ardently at him. "Go when you are ready, but I'm sure that Beldum would like to see you eventually."

"...Really?" Steven asked, facing his father. Optimism flashing in his eyes once more. He hesitantly asked, "you don't think...it would be mad?"

"I don't think it could get mad when it sees an adorable face like yours." Joseph gave his son's nose a little pinch with his fingers, eliciting a bubbly giggle from him. "But you should also remember that it protected you. You wouldn't protect someone if you were mad at them, right?"

As if in deep thought, Steven cast his gaze to the ground briefly before nodding in agreement. "I'll go visit Beldum tomorrow then!" he answered back, a renewed vigor in his voice.

"Attaboy," Joseph responded with a chuckle. "Let's go home for tonight. We've both had a long day, didn't we?"

"Mm!" Steven answered with a bright smile that plumped up his round cheeks. He instinctively reached out to grab at his father's hand, but stopped when he realized that he had to keep both arms on either crutch.

"Here," the doting father offered as he took away one of Steven's crutches and held his son's small hand. "I'll support you." Joseph smiled as he occasionally chuckled at his son's attempt to learn how to hop around on one foot. "It's not too difficult, is it? You look like you're getting the hang of it already!"

"Cus you're helping me, Daddy!"

Joseph inhaled deeply through his nose and released the breath with a warm, soft chuckle as he walked hand in hand with Steven.

"I always will, son."

* * *

**A/N **As always, reviews are always super appreciated!

Review responses: 

**Shikisai-san** \- Thank you for the review! Hope this chapter answered your question and touched your heart C:


	6. Waiting

**A/N **Was listening to the Violet Evergarden OST tracks "Whereever You Are, Whereever You May Be (Piano and Orchestra cover)" and "BELIEVE IN/PURPOSE IN LIFE." Both of them are done by PianoPieceOfAnime on Youtube. Just if you'd like to listen along while reading, especially for the last half of the chapter!

**Meteor**

**Chapter 6 -Waiting**

The last of the meteors fell to the earth, ending the brilliant light display.

Metagross continued staring up at the placid night sky, taking in the fullness of the moon and the mass of stars that dotted the otherwise plain black canvas. Its red eyes closed, content with what it saw. The marvelous simplicity of it was what brought a nostalgic calm to it.

It felt like it was close with him again.

And as always, it was well worth the wait.

* * *

By now, Beldum had gotten used to the two pokemon professors examining it in great detail. It hardly got a wink of sleep during the night, but according to what they were saying, it appeared that its condition got better faster than expected.

"It must be because of the inorganic material its body is composed of. Its regenerative abilities are quite amazing," the elderly pokemon professor murmured as he thumbed through his notes, occasionally scribbling an important detail down.

Beldum certainly felt a lot better just lying there on the steel table. It was able to rest and the most delicious food was being brought to it by Nurse Joy or a chansey every few hours. Its body was still unable to float for very long before dropping to the ground in exhaustion, but it had high hopes that the recovery process should not take too long.

There was still something missing that made Beldum feel restless.

_Steven._

Beldum would occasionally chime, catching the attention of the two professors working on it. They seemed to not understand it very well. How Beldum wished that it could communicate properly with all humans. Then it would ask them about Steven's whereabouts.

"You'll be on your feet in no time, Beldum! Just you wait!" the younger man with the name 'Birch' responded with a broad smile as he continued to help his senior with the examination.

That was not it.

Beldum grumpily squeaked, unhappy that it was having such a hard time communicating with these two. Even Nurse Joy, who was a human that spent a lot of time around other pokemon, failed to understand what Beldum truly wanted. It was downright frustrating, but then Beldum began to grow an appreciation for the brief relationship it shared with Steven.

The small, shy, clumsy boy always seems to somehow know what it was thinking even if they could not communicate with the same verbal language. However, he was absent and Beldum began to think the worst. Would it ever see him again?

It still held out hope despite the depressing thoughts that invaded its mind.

Beldum chimed again, just out of idle boredom.

"What's that, Beldum?" Birch asked, grinning eagerly. "Did you want to eat again?"

Beldum simply glared and ended up resigning to its fate of mute silence. It was never going to be able to communicate with these two.

Not sure of what to do, Beldum stared at the door to its room. It subconsciously waited, constantly hoping that the door would open and reveal Steven standing there. He always seemed to show up at the right times to give it pokeblocks when it was hungry or keep it company when it felt the hollow recesses of loneliness.

How it missed him greatly and all Beldum could do was wait.

Even as the professors left for the day, Beldum waited.

Even when Nurse Joy came in with Chansey to start with its treatment, Beldum waited.

And waited.

It managed to be able to float itself up again and peered out the small window in the room. Night fall had come and still, Beldum waited for Steven.

Beldum tiredly sank down onto its metal bed and let out a low groan in disappointment. Steven was probably asleep by now and it decided to wait until the next morning.

Surely he would come.

Surely.

* * *

"Did you hear? There's going to be another meteor shower later this week!"

"Really? You're not lying are you?"

"Of course not! It was confirmed by the space center! I swear the last time I saw one, I think I saw into the future! ... Don't give me that look! It's true!"

Steven sat idly in the pokemon center lobby, listening in on the conversations that were happening around him. His wide, curious eyes followed the pair of friends that were going on about the meteor shower that was supposedly going to occur very soon. His heart began to race in excitement. He enjoyed the last meteor shower so much that he still felt tingles from the mere memory of the event. Meteor showers held a sort of unexplainable magic to them that resonated deeply with Steven.

"Are you going to see it with anyone?"

"Who else?"

The pair of friends laughed and Steven glumly lowered his head. He began thinking of Beldum.

It was almost a week now since he had promised himself that he would go visit Beldum. However, a week had come and gone. He knew he had to go see it and he wanted to go see it, but he hesitated. He tightly held his hands together in his lap, lowering his head shamefully.

"...Is this seat taken?"

Steven raised his head to look up at the teenager that was politely gesturing to the empty seat on the bench next to him. He had scruffy, dark brown hair on top of his head with a few unkempt whiskers poking out randomly from the smooth plains of his chin. He looked messy, but the kind smile he held on his wide-set face caused Steven to relax. He nodded shyly.

As the teenager sat down, Steven skeptically took a quick glance around the pokemon center. There were plenty of other empty benches and seats.

"Thank you," he responded, still holding the welcoming smile. "Are you here waiting for your pokemon?"

Steven faltered with his response. He was not quite sure if Beldum was exactly his pokemon since he did not capture it in a pokeball.

"Is it not yours?" he asked, causing Steven to hesitantly look away to the floor. Sensing that he was making the young boy uncomfortable, the older boy quickly stammered in great embarrassment. "I - I'm so sorry! Where are my manners? My name is Oda Birch! You can just call me Birch though. That was so silly of me, I'm sorry again if I made you feel uncomfortable. I should have introduced myself from the beginning!"

Curiously, Steven glanced up at Birch before looking away again, shy and apprehensive. "Erm...do I know you? You're kinda acting weird…"

Birch, taken slightly aback at the bluntness of his words, widened his eyes before brushing off the response with a hearty laugh. "No, no. Well...maybe? See, I'm actually a pokemon professor - or...rather - a professor in-training. I'm here with my teacher to examine your beldum."

Steven perked up at the name. He faced Birch and asked with great interest, "is Beldum okay?"

Birch chuckled. "Definitely. It's healed up nicely, although not at full health yet." He curiously leaned in closer. "You must be Steven, right? Nurse Joy was talking about you being Beldum's partner."

Steven nodded.

"I was wondering when I would meet you," Birch said with an excited grin. "When Nurse Joy told me that you befriended a wild beldum, I just had to look into it." He could notice Steven's visible confusion written all over his face and he took this as an invitation to delve further into explanation. "See, maybe you've learned this already from your classes, but the pokeball is a device that was created to tame wild pokemon. It makes it a lot easier for us to form bonds with them when they abandon their natural, wild temperament. Wouldn't you agree?"

Steven thought back to the run-ins he had with wild pokemon in the past. Some would jump out from the tall grass to attack him or they would glare menacingly until he ran away. He visibly cringed at the memories of himself in peril and he nodded.

"I'm sure you had your experiences," Birch said light-heartedly. "It's a difficult task for a human to train a pokemon without a pokeball, but there are a few people who have done it. I think you are one of those people."

"Me?" Steven responded incredulously.

"Yes. Nurse Joy told me that even though Beldum was injured, it was still trying to protect you. Wild pokemon don't just do that for any human." Birch saw the doubt still present in Steven's eyes. "Even pokemon trainers with years of experience have trouble taming wild pokemon without a pokeball. I would even go so far as to say some of the most experienced gym leaders don't have the skill either, but you do."

Steven lowered his head, timid and unsure of how to take in such a compliment. "I - I don't know...I don't know the first thing about pokemon battles or taking care of one...I...I got scared and didn't know what to do when that other trainer attacked me and Beldum. I caused it to get hurt." His voice grew soft as guilt seeped into his mind. "I don't think I'm good enough to be Beldum's trainer."

Birch pouted his lips slightly as he sat back on the bench, feeling dejected at how he was unable to inspire him. He crossed his arms over his broad chest and gave Steven his last bit of advice. "You know, the way I see it Steven, you may not have the courage or confidence yet, but those things can be grown. ...You can't grow a heart though."

Taking what he said literally, Steven furrowed his brow and answered back, "of course you can't. You're born with one."

And all Birch did was smile back at him in response.

Still confused by what he was smiling about or what he meant, Steven stared at Birch as he stood up to go back to his teacher.

"Beldum is doing a lot better now. You should go see it, maybe then you two can talk it out. It looks like it wants to see you."

Steven furrowed his brow as he looked up at him.

Birch shrugged. "If you think being a pokemon trainer isn't right for you, I think you'd be a pretty decent researcher too. You seem to have a curious mind! Anyways, I'll see you around, Steven!"

Pondering on the odd, out of the blue run-in, Steven dropped his head and sat in the lobby for a few more minutes in silence. He glanced down at his slightly open school bag and caught sight of the small bag of pokeblocks he had made for when he paid Beldum a visit. Steven pursed his lips slightly in denial and muttered dismissively, "it's not that hard to get close to a wild pokemon when you give it some food."

* * *

There was the faintest scent of a familiar, delicious treat. Beldum opened up its eye as it woke up and noticed a small bag had been placed on the side of its steel bed. It immediately recognized the dark purple velvet pouch it was in along with the tell-tale "S.S." embroidered on it in a shimmering silver thread.

It let out a joyous growl as it promptly floated up from the bed, scanning the room for the owner of the pouch.

_Steven._

Beldum promptly let itself float back down onto the bed with a low thump dejectedly. The room was empty and it sadly looked back down at the pouch, which was emitting the pleasant aroma of its favorite pokeblocks. It nudged at the velvet pouch and it cracked open at the top, displaying the various yellow and green colored treats.

Even with the tasty morsels, Beldum found itself unable to indulge in them to its heart's content. The pit of loneliness that grew inside was blocking all the joy it could feel. Thoughts of abandonment and unwant began to fill its head.

Did Steven leave it because it failed to prove how strong of a pokemon it was? Did Steven lose interest in it? Did he not want its companionship any longer? Were these pokeblocks his last parting gift out of pity?

Beldum sank deeper into despair as it sadly let out a single chime. It had never felt any sort of emotion such as this and Beldum began to realize it hurt more than the flamethrower attack it endured from the charizard.

Outside, Beldum could hear the usual bustling sounds of the pokemon center. It knew that Nurse Joy would soon come in with a small breakfast and to give it its daily check-up.

It did not want to see her. Or any human for that matter. It got tired of waiting and realized that perhaps its life in isolation was the best way for it to preserve itself. Humans only brought pain and it did not want to go through anything like this ever again.

Beldum looked to the open window in its room and then glanced back one last time at the door, as if it was giving one last chance for it to open.

Giving Steven one last chance to show up.

It waited, but its impatience and annoyance got the better of it and Beldum's once sorrowful eye reflected resentful anger as it whipped back around towards the window. Before it zipped out, for a brief second, Beldum's eye relaxed into a heartbroken reflection of its internal, desperate pleas. It was angry at Steven, but it also wanted to see him again too, more than anything.

* * *

Nervous would not even come close to describing what Steven felt as he stepped inside the pokemon center that evening after school. Sheer, gut-wrenching anxiety was more like it. He had reflected upon what Birch had told him the other day and figured that even if he did not feel ready, he should meet Beldum face to face. Beldum deserved that much at least.

Steven hobbled up to the front counter, where he was greeted by Nurse Joy's always kind smile. He simply gave her a modest, shy smile, trying to hide how nervous he felt.

"Are you here to see Beldum?" she asked, hoping for a different answer than the ones she had gotten from him previously.

Negative scenarios that did not even happen began to plague the young boy's mind again. Would Beldum react in fear or anger when it saw him? Did he wait much too long to go visit it? What if it was still badly injured? He could not bear to see it being hooked up to a dozen machines and barely able to move.

His heart ached at the mere thought of it, but Steven realized that it was the precise reason why he should go in to see it.

_"Your mother loved seeing you every day when she was in the hospital. You made her days brighter and kept the smile on her face."_

_"You know, the way I see it Steven, you may not have the courage or confidence yet, but those things can be grown. ...You can't grow a heart though."_

His father's voice as well as Birch's echoed in his head.

This was not about him. It was about Beldum.

Steven tightly gripped at his crutches and steeled his mind. "I would," he answered Nurse Joy, much to her delight.

"Right this way then, Steven. Watch your step."

Steven's heart thumped wildly inside his small chest as he went down the hallway towards the recovery rooms. The length of the hallway felt extremely short as he arrived at the room in no time at all.

Nurse Joy cracked the door open. "Beldum, you have someone very special to see you -! ...Oh my -! Beldum?"

His heart fell as Steven saw an empty bed and a very confused Nurse Joy burst into the room in an attempt to search for the small steel pokemon. He stood at the doorway, shocked as he saw the uneaten bag of pokeblocks. He had left the pouch of blocks with the nurse at the front desk, too afraid to go into Beldum's room to deliver it himself. How he regretted it now.

The open window let in a cold draft as Steven entered the room. He went right up to the pokeblock pouch and saw that it was still full. The pouch held a medley of Beldum's favorite flavors, yellow and green, bitter and sour blocks. Steven pursed his lips as he took it in his hands, fighting back the urge to cry.

Beldum must have been so upset that it simply chose not to eat any of it.

"...I have to apologize," he whispered under his breath.

Without another word, Steven quickly left the room, ignoring Nurse Joy calling out to him. He huffed and panted as he moved his crutches as fast as he could down the streets of Rustboro. He was determined to get to the caves where he had met Beldum. He was sure that it was there since it was the only home that it had known.

Steven knew that he really should not be trying to traverse the cave with a broken leg, but he had to go see Beldum regardless. Beldum deserved it.

The cave's bedrock proved to be a challenge, but he carefully hobbled over the uneven terrain. Eventually, Steven managed to make it to the small crevice where Beldum slept.

It was empty.

He took the time to catch his breath as he gathered his bearings and memory. He remembered that the last time he could not find Beldum in its usual roost, he met it out on the cliff where they watched the meteor shower together. Yes, that was it.

Steven wiped away the sweat that had gathered on his forehead with the back of his hand and set off towards the cliff.

A blast of cold air mixed in with the salty scent of the nearby ocean hit Steven as he made it to the cliff. He looked out at the quickly darkening skies, watching the last of the sun's rays disappear beneath the horizon. Steven panted with wide eyes, looking around to see if he could spot that familiar flash of white steel. When he saw nothing, he lowered his head and quietly slumped to the ground. His crutches crashed down beside him.

Minutes passed.

Steven's heavy breathing slowly evolved into hushed cries, muffled. In the lonesome darkness, Steven sat there, stifling his hiccups and weeping openly. His tears fell to the ground, soaking the earth as his face reddened and his nose ran. The knowledge that he had failed Beldum weighed heavily on his chest.

How foolish was he to think that Beldum would be waiting for him? After all this time?

"I'm sorry," Steven cried, his voice cracking as he whispered a slew of apologies into the lonely silence. "I'm sorry, Beldum. I was too scared to see you."

The white sleeve of his school uniform was damp with his tears as he continued to cry. His throat hurt and his eyes burned, but Steven tried to reassure himself that this was probably for the best. Beldum could probably find solace in living by itself or maybe it could even find a capable pokemon trainer that could nurture it to become stronger. However, there was still the tiniest speck of hope remaining inside of Steven that he could be Beldum's pokemon trainer.

Amidst his crying, Steven heard a soft mechanical chime behind him. He raised his head and drew in a sharp breath as he turned around.

It was Beldum.

"...B...eldum," Steven whispered in pure astonishment. He kept his wide teal eyes on the pokemon and the two stared at each other for the longest time before Steven broke the silence with a sniffle. He quickly wiped his wet eyes and nose with the back of his sleeve and nervously averted his gaze away from the floating pokemon. "...I know you're angry with me. People have told me that you wanted to see me, but I didn't go. I'm sorry."

Beldum saw Steven lower his head towards it in a show of humility.

"I couldn't even be brave enough to give you the pokeblocks myself. I had Nurse Joy take it to you." Steven sniffled again, his lower lip trembling. His voice squeaked terribly. "I just couldn't face you. I caused you to get hurt by that charizard trainer and I felt guilty that I couldn't do anything to save you. If you're angry with me, I understand but..."

His voice broke, cracking as he tried to force back the tears that were spilling out beyond his control. Beldum watched, its own body trembling with the feelings of guilt. It was starting to feel foolish for storming out from the pokemon center earlier.

"...I'm sorry!" Steven held his head up, making direct eye contact with Beldum, despite how blurry his vision was from the tears that pooled in his eyes. "I'm so, so sorry, Beldum! I'm sorry for not seeing you sooner, for not being strong enough to protect you. I don't know if I'll ever be a strong enough pokemon trainer for you, but...I'd really like to be your partner. I want to see the world with you! I want to go on adventures together! I want to protect you...! And other people...and...and - !" He began hiccupping through his words and he desperately tried to wipe his tears away again. He soon felt a smooth object hit his knee gently.

Curiously, Steven peeked out from behind his arm and saw a single pokeball resting beside his knee. His mouth dropped open as he realized it must have been the pokeball he had lost a while ago. With an apprehensive gaze, he looked towards Beldum, which was floating directly in front of him, hovering itself near the pokeball.

"Beldum…?" Steven whispered, blinking away the last of his tears as he curiously looked down at it. He hesitantly reached out to grab the pokeball, all the while keeping eye contact with Beldum. It was definitely communicating a message to him, but Steven was unsure if it was really trying to say what he thought it was trying to say. "B - Beldum...are you…?" Before he could even finish the sentence, Beldum floated over to the ball in his hand and tapped its round head against the device.

Steven gasped softly in shock as the pokeball opened and immediately transferred Beldum's solid steel body into nothing more than a flash of light. It was transported into the small container. He watched as the button in the center blinked red several times before dimming to a stop.

Staring down at the pokeball, Steven slowly processed what had just happened. He gasped in surprise when the ball popped open again and Beldum materialized before him.

"W- Wait...Beldum...did you? Are you…?" It was hard to form proper words.

Beldum let out a soft growl, giving an answer to Steven's disjointed questions. It zipped happily over to his shoulder and rested its head against his soft cheek in a show of affection.

"But -!" Steven let out a laugh in pure joy as he sniffled again. "You didn't forgive me yet! Or...did you?"

Beldum grunted sharply, annoyed at its new trainer's obliviousness. It went straight for Steven's bag and rustled around inside of it. The pouch of pokeblocks were fished out and Beldum helped itself to the treats.

Laughing at how ravenously Beldum was eating the blocks, Steven felt all semblance of sadness leave him. He wiped away the last of his tears and smiled at his new pokemon companion. "I'll take it as a yes."

The two paused briefly when they noticed the skies above them were once again painted with streaks of meteors falling to the earth. Unable to take his eyes off of them, Steven parted his lips. He eventually let out a hushed, content sigh. Steven smiled up at the sky.

Beldum continued to eat, but stopped when it heard Steven speak in a tone that was oddly lower.

"Let's make a promise, okay Beldum? We'll become strong so that we can protect each other and other people and pokemon who may need our help."

It raised its head up to look at Steven, only to be taken aback by who was sitting there. It was indeed Steven, but with a more mature face, taller, and older. He was wearing different clothes, a suit, much like what Beldum saw the older male humans wear. And his eyes were a lot sharper, more confident and strong. It blinked in bewilderment, wondering what had happened. Upon reopening its eye again, Beldum saw that Steven was back to normal - round faced, the look of pure youth and child-like wonder in his eyes.

Steven held out his pinky towards Beldum. "Promise?" he asked. His voice also lost the mature edge that Beldum thought it had heard earlier.

Brushing off the odd experience, Beldum chimed happily as it gave Steven's pinky a gentle tap.

"...Oh right," he said with a sheepish laugh. "I forgot...you don't exactly have fingers."

It grunted sharply in response, as if taking offense to the comment.

"Okay then, when you evolve, will you have fingers?"

A growl.

"You're right...it might look weird."

A chime.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see." Steven laughed as they both watched the last of the meteor showers. "...What if when I evolve, the opposite happens? What if I get even more fingers?" Steven wondered out loud, laughing harder when Beldum showed obvious discontent for the joke. "No...you're right. Humans can't evolve."

In terms of evolution, Beldum thought back to what it had just seen with an older Steven, but it dismissed the idea. It figured that eventually it would know whether or not what it saw was real. It did not mind waiting.


	7. Appearances

**Meteor**

**Chapter 7 -** **Appearances**

* * *

He was there again.

Pursing her lips tightly, Roxanne crossed her thin arms over her chest and let out a haughty huff. She narrowed her rust colored eyes at the strange boy that was sitting near the edge of the large gym stadium. He looked as if he was trying not to draw any suspicion to himself amongst the crowd, but to her, he came off as _highly_ suspicious.

The boy was always donning the darkest of sunglasses each time he came to spectate the gym battles, even if it was raining. He also wore a thick black sweat jacket with the hood pulled over his head. It was clearly too big for his body except it accommodated his rather rotund stomach well. Roxanne always thought that was a little off.

He looked lanky, but he appeared to have a rather disproportionate potbelly that made her glare in disgust. Something was off about him, absolutely. Whenever he sat down amidst the large crowds, she could not see him very well, but she always caught sight of him later on when the match was over. He was always the first to go.

_'Always in a rush,'_ she thought bitterly, but today was the day that she was going to question this boy. Even though he did appear to be a few years older than her, she was not going to let him get away with whatever he was planning and Roxanne was sure that he was planning something foul. Otherwise, you would not dress like he did.

She saw him again in the stands. Same spot as always.

It was difficult to see him since he blended in with the crowds, but she made sure to keep an eye on him the best that she could. He was definitely up to no good. A sure-fire delinquent and it was only a matter of time before he staged something against the Rustboro Gym or to her teacher. Roxanne was determined not to let anything of the sort happen on her watch.

A roar from the crowds drew her attention back to the match between her teacher and the gym challenger. She beamed at the successful counter strike that her teacher delivered to the opponent's mudkip. Despite being at a type disadvantage, he always had a way of turning the odds into his favor.

Roxanne quickly pulled out her small notebook and jotted down a few notes regarding what just happened. Her keen eyes watched intently as her teacher commanded his onyx to deliver a devastating rock throw attack.

"So he exhausted the opponent's mudkip to the point where the water gun stream wouldn't be as powerful...I see," Roxanne muttered as she jotted down her notes diligently. "As expected of my teacher!" she exclaimed with a proud grin just as the referee called the final blow.

"And the winner is, Gym Leader Mason!"

Roxanne's lips went up in a slight smirk as the crowds cheered for the victory. She sealed her notebook carefully and tucked it away in her backpack before returning her attention back at the suspicious boy in the crowds.

_'Good, he didn't leave yet,'_ she thought as she spotted him applauding along with the rest of the crowd to acknowledge the efforts of the gym challenger. Just as she was about to make a move towards him, she stopped short when she spotted something peculiar.

His stomach was.._.moving_?

Roxanne's mouth dropped as he stood up and moved along with the crowd. He appeared to try and be nonchalant about it, but she caught him shushing and whispering to whatever it was that was in his stomach. Immediately, her anger spiked up.

He was a spy! She was sure of it.

Letting out a sharp huff, she angrily went after him. She trailed him in the crowds, careful not to lose sight of him and apologizing if she ended up bumping into someone on accident. Roxanne clenched her fists tightly as she strode over to him and in a daring move, she grabbed him by the back of his hoodie.

"Hey! You!" she exclaimed.

The boy's hood slipped back, falling off and revealing a head full of soft teal hair. He gasped, clearly unnerved by what had just happened.

"I demand to know what your business is here at the Rustboro Gym! If you're here as a spy trying to learn my teacher's battling secrets -!"

"- No, no!" the boy exclaimed, yanking himself away so that he could free himself from her grasp, but he was too slow.

A small crowd had gathered around them, drawn in by the commotion.

"You! Listen here -!" Roxanne exclaimed sharply as she grabbed his wrist in a vice grip. She was quite unprepared for what happened next.

A sharp scream came from her when a pokemon popped out from underneath the boy's jacket. It was a small pokemon, its entire body covered in silver steel. It flew intimidatingly close to her face, causing her to let go of his wrist and fall backwards in a display of pure shock.

She fell flat on her bottom and trembled as she tried to get over what had just happened. Roxanne could only quietly look up at the boy, whose eyes were still covered by the black sunglasses, but his agape mouth told the whole story. He was just as shocked as she was.

"I - I'm sorry! I -!" He bent down to try and help her up.

The crowd immediately reacted.

"Hey, isn't that pokemon...doesn't it belong to Stone's son?"

"What's he doing here if it is him?"

"Didn't know he was interested in pokemon battles...I wonder if his father knows."

Roxanne watched as the boy quickly straightened up, drawing back because of the murmurs and whispers that were now flying around them. He seemed unsure of what to do for a brief moment, before he quickly ran away.

"Let's go, Beldum!" he said to the strange steel pokemon. It sped away alongside him and the two swiftly vanished from Roxanne's view.

She remained there on the ground, still shaken by what had just happened, until a kind old woman helped her back up to her feet.

"Are you alright, dear?" the elderly woman asked worriedly.

"Y - Yes, thank you so much," Roxanne thanked with a warm smile. She bowed politely and the small crowd began to disperse just as quickly as they gathered. Roxanne however, stood there, looking down the road where the boy disappeared to. Her eyes were set in a determined glare as she haughtily placed her hands on her hips.

She caught the name "Stone" amidst the crowd when she was on the ground.

Almost everyone in Hoenn knew of Devon Corporation and everyone in Rustboro knew of President Stone and his only son, Steven. Roxanne had no doubt about it that the suspicious boy was no one other than Steven himself.

Dusting herself off, Roxanne cleared her throat sharply and rolled back her shoulders before walking back into the gym. She decided that the next time she saw him, she would have to give him a proper introduction.

_'Perhaps Nosepass could teach him a lesson,'_ she thought with a confident smirk. '_That'll show him.'_

* * *

Steven was out of breath by the time he reached the street block where Devon Corporation stood. His chest heaved up and down with deep, hoarse breaths as he rested his hands on his knees for a brief moment. As he remained hunched over, Beldum hovering around him chimed.

"I know. That was close!" He stood up straight, still panting as he pulled the hoodie over his head to take it off. Underneath was a clean white dress shirt, a few wrinkles in place from the previous mad dash. "But wasn't it a great match? We learned a lot, right Beldum?"

Beldum chimed happily in agreement.

As Steven took off the sunglasses he wore, he was approached by one of his father's personal bodyguards.

"Steven!" the middle-aged gentleman exclaimed, quickly walking up to him. "Your father had me looking around everywhere for you! You can't be wandering off like that without telling us!"

"I'm sorry," Steven replied with a meek smile. "Beldum just really wanted to see the progress being made on the Verdanturf tunnels. It was its old home after all."

The bodyguard let out an exasperated sigh as he led Steven into the large corporate building. "Still, you shouldn't be wandering off like that. You don't know how long I had to stall with your father."

"I'm sorry," he replied again with an airy laugh, which was followed by another tired sigh from the bodyguard that clearly had too much on his plate already.

The two walked through the clear sliding glass doors of the front lobby, with Beldum floating closely behind. Immediately, Steven was thrown back into the corporate world of blood thirsty sales pitchers, tireless pencil pushers, and bottom feeding lawyers. The front lobby was full of bustling activity and Steven kept the smile on his face as his father's bodyguard helped him navigate through it all.

"Your father will be waiting for you in the second meeting room," he said as he pushed the elevator button to go up. "And...you know your father's associates don't appreciate pokemon being brought into meetings."

Steven's smile faltered slightly, but he kept it up. "I know. Don't worry, I'll put Beldum away before I go in."

The elevator doors opened up and Steven stepped inside, Beldum floating very closely to his shoulder. The small steel-type pokemon looked up at its trainer the minute the doors closed and it saw his smile drop.

Steven closed his eyes and let out an inaudible sigh as he fished out a key card from the pocket of his slacks. Just as he was about to insert it into the slot on the elevator panel, he felt a soft nudge on his wrist, preventing him from doing so. Steven reopened his eyes and smiled fondly down at Beldum.

"It's okay."

Steven placed his hand on the cool surface of Beldum's metallic head and his eyes briefly flickered down to his shoes before focusing back on the small pokemon. His smile appeared strained. Beldum noticed that it was nothing like the bright smile he wore just a while ago when he was spectating the pokemon battle at the Rustboro gym.

"Dad has to be happy, right?"

He inserted the keycard into the slot on the panel and he punched in a four digit code on the number pad. As he put away the card, he reached for the single pokeball attached to his belt.

"I'll see you soon, buddy."

In a flash of red light, Beldum was recalled back into its pokeball.

Steven held the pokeball in his hand for a while, staring down at it wistfully before minimizing it back down to the size of a marble. He reattached the ball back to his belt and drew in a long breath as he stood up straight. As the elevator climbed up to the top floors, Steven readjusted the collar on his dress shirt, suddenly finding it much too tight and confining. He set his jaw and rested his hands down by his side.

15...16...17…

A smile reappeared on his face and he opened his mouth just a bit so that the pearly whites of his teeth were visible. His eyes flickered to the reflection of himself on the elevator doors. His smile disappeared and he shook his head, reformulating another facade.

18...19...20…

A more stoic expression made its way onto his handsome, youthful features. His teal blue eyes were set in a sharp glare and when he saw himself reflected back on the elevator doors, he shook his head again.

21...22...23…

Steven sighed dejectedly and his gaze dropped to the floor. A sullen frown now formed on his face, along with the downturn of his eyebrows and this time he kept his head down until he reached his floor. He refused to look up until the elevator doors opened, whisking away the image of a heartbroken young man.

* * *

"So, Roxanne, did you pick up some good tricks from my gym battle today?"

The young brunette nodded once, her rust colored eyes bright with excitement. "Absolutely, teacher! I'm still so amazed at how you're so in sync with your pokemon! None of you waste any time on the field."

The older gentleman chuckled. "I'm glad to see that you've also been taking notes. I'd expect nothing less from my star pupil and successor!"

Roxanne beamed. "I promise I'll learn as much as I can! Nosepass and I won't let you down, Mr. Mason!"

"Your enthusiasm knows no bounds," Mason commented with a hearty laugh. "I expect the best battle of my life from you and Nosepass someday, Roxanne!"

"Of course, sir!" She was beyond elated with all the praise she was receiving from her teacher.

"Oh right," Mason started with a thoughtful cup of his chin. "You don't have classes tomorrow. Why don't you come back here bright and early to train with some of the gym trainers? I'm sure you could learn from them and you could also teach them a thing or two."

"It would be an honor," Roxanne bowed. "I will be sure to show up first thing in the morning then! Thank you!"

The sun was about to set just as Roxanne gave her final goodbyes. She walked out of the gym and smiled at herself, the grin she wore almost reaching from ear to ear. All of her hard work was soon going to pay off and her greatest prize would be to challenge her teacher for his title of Rustboro Gym Leader someday. Roxanne could not wait.

"Alright! Time to get some last minute training in before I head home!"

The young girl headed towards the beach, her favorite training spot with Nosepass.

As Roxanne reached the top of the stairs that led down to the beach, she stopped when she saw a lone figure resting against the guardrail and looking out towards the ocean. Illuminated only by the dim street lamp, she could make out the figure to be no one other than Steven Stone.

Her body froze. She definitely did not expect him to be there, nor did she expect to see him here of all places. She would have better expected him to be at the gym match today, but he was absent.

Odd.

From what she observed, he never missed a match for the past few months.

Seeing as how he did not notice her yet, Roxanne brushed aside the thoughts of his absence for now and quickly thought of how she should approach him. Now that he was not wearing that horrendous oversized hoodie, she could see that he had a rather slim, well-built form that was only accented by his tailored suit. The young girl thought he looked quite dashing, but she knew not to be deceived.

This was the boy that allowed her to fall flat on her bottom in the middle of a crowd. Dozens of people saw it and even though it was not embarrassing to her to say the least, she still convinced herself that he needs to pay her back for it.

"So, I didn't expect to see you here, Steven Stone," she addressed him with a firm voice. "No hoodie today, you hoodlum?"

He visibly flinched and whipped around, eyes wide as if she had caught him doing something illegal.

Roxanne stifled back a laugh. "You heard me! My name is Roxanne and I don't know what you think you're doing spying on the Rustboro gym, but I won't let it happen!" She stepped closer to him and she noticed the look of realization on his face.

"Spying? Wait...you're…"

"- the girl you pushed over."

"- the gym leader's student."

Her eyes grew wide at his sentence. "Oh, you know me?" she asked, surprise laced in her voice.

Steven nodded, a shy blush forming on his face. "Uhm, well...maybe not actually. I - I just see you from the stands sometimes and you're always standing behind the gym leader, taking notes and stuff like that. I just assumed…"

"Well, you are correct," she replied with a confident grin.

"...I didn't push you over though, or was I spying."

That quickly wiped the grin off of Roxanne's face. "Excuse me? Yes you did!"

"You fell over because you were surprised by Beldum," he said in a quiet voice.

Now it was her turn to blush. Roxanne scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well! Maybe I did, but it was only because I didn't expect a pokemon to come out from underneath your hoodie!"

"Aren't you always around pokemon? How did you get surprised -?"

"- You-! Never mind! Fine, I fell on my own!" Roxanne, realizing that she was raising her voice, quickly composed herself again and cleared her throat. She brushed away an invisible piece of hair on her shoulder. "So...I didn't see you today at that gym battle."

Steven did not answer her.

Roxanne looked at him and saw a somber look on his face as he looked off to the side. She raised an eyebrow and inquired, "did something happen to you? You look...not like yourself."

The teenager looked at her and broke into a dry laugh. "And how should I look?"

She found herself fidgeting, surprised by the off-script question. "Uh -"

"- I forgot. I should always smile right? Appearances are important, no?"

Roxanne quickly picked up the sarcasm that lay deep within his voice and she flashed him an uncomfortable expression, which Steven immediately picked up.

His eyes widened and regained their gentle image. He released all the bitterness in his voice and face. Quickly realizing that she was just a stranger to him and that he was being rude, Steven muttered an apology. "My father asked me to take care of some business for him. Seeing as how you addressed me by my full name, I'm sure you know who my father is as well as his work."

"Of course. You're Steven Stone, heir to the Devon Corporation and your father, Joseph Stone is the sitting president of Devon at the moment."

He seemed visibly distraught with what she said.

Astutely, Roxanne chose to avoid further conversation on the topic. She instead focused on his interest in pokemon battles. "So, do you have any plans on challenging the gym soon? I clearly saw that you have a pokemon of your own."

"I…" He looked away again. "I do have an interest in battling, but...I've never trained. I don't have the slightest clue as to what to do."

"You never took classes at the trainers' school here?" she asked, curiously as she came up right next to him.

"I did a few years ago, around the time when I met Beldum, but after a year, my father pulled me out. Said I had to start learning about the corporate world, so...he enrolled me in business school. He knows the importance of pokemon, so that's why he sent me to the trainers' school back then, and also why I was probably allowed to keep Beldum as my partner." Steven wistfully looked back out at the ocean.

Roxanne followed his gaze and in the distant darkness, she saw a small figure float up towards them. As it got closer, she saw that it was Steven's beldum.

The platinum colored steel-type pokemon came up to his side, happily showing him a pumice stone it had in its claw. Steven's face immediately lit up and he praised the small pokemon for it. He rubbed his hand slowly across the shiny body of the steel pokemon and he continued speaking, his voice still even and soft.

"...I know you're not interested in the logistics - or...I mean -"

"- I know what that word means."

"Right...anyways, that's why I can't battle. I can't just re-enroll myself into trainers' school either. It's full of little kids. Uhm, no offense."

Roxanne gave him a sour glare. "I'm not a little kid. I'm 12."

"You're a kid."

"You are too!"

Steven pulled his lips to one side and fought back the urge to roll his eyes, but failed. "Whatever."

Roxanne fumed. She always hated the teenage boys that came to challenge her teacher at the gym. They were always so cocky and full of attitude. Mason always told her to leave them be and that they will probably turn out to be fine gentlemen as soon as they were over their hormones. Roxanne never understood it, but she did know that Steven proved himself to be no different than them.

Just as she was about to snap at him, Roxanne stopped herself when she saw the same distraught expression take over his face once more. She had heard from her teacher that teenagers also go through "mood swings," but she knew that this was a lot deeper than that.

"Doesn't Beldum want to battle?"

The question caught Steven off-guard, but the small pokemon chimed exuberantly, giving Roxanne a clear answer.

Steven simply chuckled at his pokemon's unfiltered excitement. He placed his hand on top of its head gently and spoke directly to it. "Do you really want to, buddy?"

It looked up at him, the lone red eye staring intently at him, and gently nudged his wrist.

Steven set his jaw at the small action. He could practically picture all those times in the elevator on his way up to sit in at his father's business meetings. Those dreadful seconds where he had to practice his smile behind closed doors and wait floor after agonizing floor, no longer staring at his smile, but at his miserable expression where he wanted to be anywhere, but there.

'Anywhere…'

He closed his eyes and he could envision the roar of the crowds. The cold air of the stadium chilling his senses as he stood several paces apart from his opponent. The only ones he would be able to rely on are himself and his pokemon. It would almost be as fun as going out looking for stones.

Steven reopened his eyes and smiling endearingly down at the small steel pokemon. "Okay Beldum...we'll do it. I can't keep wishing for things to happen, right?"

It hummed happily and quickly went up to nuzzle the young man on the cheek.

"Okay, okay!" he laughed, "I get it, you're excited! Calm down!"

Roxanne could not help, but smile at the soft moment. She immediately regained her haughty composure and placed her hands on her hips. "Well then, now that that's settled, how about you come by the gym tomorrow? My teacher invited me to train with the other trainers at the gym and I'm sure he wouldn't mind if his star pupil brought someone along."

"O - Oh," Steven awkwardly held the back of his neck. "That's so soon, I -"

"- Didn't you say you'll do it? This is a great opportunity to learn how to battle!"

Steven seemed hesitant, but he relented. "Okay, but I do have a class in the morning tomorrow. I can come by after that."

Roxanne shrugged. "Anytime is fine. Oh, and I expect to get paid for this."

"Huh?" he asked her incredulously.

She held out her hand and very confidently stated, "I'm letting you in on an exclusive training session with the members of the Rustboro Gym! Any pokemon trainer would be dying for something like that! Don't think that you'd be getting it for free!"

Steven stood there with his mouth open before he finally spoke. "I'm not getting shaken down by a child."

"You're a child too!"

"I'm 15."

"You're not even that much older than me!"

"Whatever."

A loud, frustrated scream came from the young girl. "Why are all you boys like this!?"

Surprising Roxanne, she heard him laugh. Not one laced with dry sarcasm or a wistful one, just an unadulterated real laugh. The first one from him she had heard.

It was low, slightly husky, and his voice cracked just a little bit.

"I'm sorry," he apologized in-between laughs, gently holding his loosely fisted hand over his mouth in an attempt to keep himself modest.

Roxanne suddenly felt her heart skip a beat and she mentally cursed at herself for finding his laugh to be attractive.

Beldum, on the other hand, happily looked to its trainer. It had been a while since it saw him laughing in such a lively manner.

* * *

**A/N **

I know both Steven and Roxanne might have been a bit OOC, but they are a lot younger than their canon selves. Around 10 years younger? (I also guessed Roxanne's age since there's no official data, but I'm assuming she's just a few years younger than Steven.) I kind of wanted to keep that immature mentality with both of them since they do need room to grow into the adults they are in present day :D

Reviews are greatly appreciated!

-ZERO-


	8. Ego

**Meteor**

**Chapter 8 - Ego **

* * *

"Go, Nosepass! Let's try another Rock Tomb!"

A storm of rocks shot towards the opponent's geodude. The small, but hefty pokemon dodged the attack. However, not as quickly as its trainer planned. The geodude found itself helplessly trapped within the rubble, unable to find a quick escape.

A smirk made its way to Roxanne's face and she quickly issued the final command to her trusty pokemon. "Nosepass, Use Tackle, now!"

The slow moving pokemon thrusted itself forward, sending its angular body flying directly through the only opening amongst the array of boulders and rocks surrounding Geodude. As calculated by Roxanne, Nosepass managed to land a direct hit on the trapped geodude and the stunned pokemon went flying through a boulder before skidding to a stop on the ground just before its trainer's feet. It was out cold.

"Geodude!" the young boy desperately cried out, only for the rock-type pokemon to be unresponsive. He appeared devastated by the loss, at the same time stunned, unsure how Roxanne managed such a victory.

The young girl coolly folded her arms over her chest, waiting for the call that declared her victory.

"And the winner is, Roxanne and Nosepass!"

"Well done!" Mason exclaimed, complimenting both Roxanne and her opponent. "That was an exhilarating match to watch." He faced his star pupil and asked, "care to explain to the rest of the gym how you managed to grab that victory?"

"Of course! I knew immediately that Nosepass was at a speed disadvantage compared to Jean's geodude. We've been strategizing and training on the best way to slow down our opponents with Rock Tomb, so naturally I had Nosepass use that move in order to create an opening for us to be able to land a strike. It was quite easy." Roxanne turned up her nose in confidence, ignoring the eye rolls she was receiving from the small group of trainers that were spectating.

The gym leader, impressed by his pupil's simple, yet effective strategy, clapped his hands together in a round of applause. "Excellent work! Always take into account what you lack, not just the opponent's strengths."

A rather weak applause, if any, came from the spectating students and trainers as Roxanne recalled Nosepass.

Mason looked over at the clock hanging on the far wall and smiled. "How about we take a short break? We'll meet back in 15 to conduct a few more matches before we call it a day!"

The trainers clamoured together, discussing strategies with each other or simply talking about what happened to them the week before. Roxanne, however, found herself alone. She was never included in these conversations, but it was not like she minded.

She looked away, her eyes drifting towards the entrance to the arena and saw a familiar face. Her eyes instantly lit up.

"Steven!" she called out, running down from the stands to go greet him.

The young teen appeared out of breath, a little bit sweaty on the brow, as if he had ran a mile. "Am I late?" he asked breathlessly.

Roxanne smiled widely. "Nope! Well, you did miss the first few matches, but we're only in our second half. You'll have plenty to observe and perhaps participate in as well."

Steven widened his eyes and quickly shook his head. "I - I don't know about participating just yet," he said sheepishly.

"Fair enough," Roxanne replied, smirking as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Oh? Is this the friend you were talking about, Roxanne?" A voice interrupted them from behind.

Steven immediately recognized the man walking up to them to be the Rustboro gym leader. He appeared a lot larger when he was not watching him from the stands.

_"A bit intimidating…"_ Steven thought with a timid gulp.

The gym leader offered up a warm welcome with an extended hand. "My name's Mason. I'm the gym leader here at Rustboro. Pleased to meet you." His kind demeanor certainly put the young teen at ease.

Hoping not to come off as rude in any way, Steven stammered lamely as he took the larger gentleman's hand. "P - Pleased to meet you! My name is Steven. I...I loved attending the gym battles you conduct, S - Sir! It's truly an honor -" He was cut off by a deep chuckle by Mason.

"I can see President Stone didn't raise an ill-mannered son, but please Steven, call me 'Mason.' No need to call me by any titles, but do appreciate the respect."

"You know who I am?" Steven asked curiously, glancing at Roxanne briefly, as if silently asking her if she had already introduced him to Mason prior to his meeting.

He laughed. "Most of us native to Rustboro know who you are. Devon is what keeps Rustboro on the Hoenn map, aside from the gym and all...and there aren't too many young boys running around with a rare pokemon like your beldum."

All Steven could respond with was a modest smile.

"In addition, Roxanne had told me a little bit about you earlier. She said you attend all of our gym challenges. I assume you're interested in battling?"

"Y - Yes." He cleared his throat, his voice gaining a bit more of a confident tenor. "I would like to be a pokemon trainer."

Approving of the way Steven's tone changed with his answer, Mason smiled. "Sounds good, young man. The Pokemon League here in Hoenn is a long and tough road. It requires dedication and commitment, you know?"

The sudden falter in Steven's voice and shrinking demeanor did not go unnoticed by Mason or Roxanne.

"...I...understand."

Mason lowered his eyes, seeing how the young boy was displaying hesitation once again. He decided not to press into the matter now and instead, offered up a welcoming aura once more. "Well, you're more than welcome to challenge any of the trainers here for a battle when you feel ready. There's a lot to learn just from keen observation as well. I'm sure my star pupil will be of much help to you."

"Thank you."

Roxanne waited until Mason left before she spoke to Steven. Her eyes softened at his very apparent uneasiness. "If you want, you can have Beldum out while we watch the battles. If...it'll help you feel more comfortable."

"Oh, right…" Steven muttered as he reached for the lone pokeball clipped to his belt. As Beldum popped out of the pokeball in a flash of light, it immediately took notice of its trainer's pessimism.

Roxanne kept her eyes on him as well. She worriedly looked over him and finally asked in an unusually soft tone of voice, "...is it a situation regarding your father?" She took the incoming silence as a denial of conversation and she quickly apologized, only for Steven to shake his head.

"No...it's okay. It's just…" He breathed out a dejected sigh. "He doesn't know I'm doing this and I feel slightly guilty for leaving him in the dark, but I just don't know how he's going to react if he does know. You heard Mason, it's a long and tough road and…" Steven paused, turning his gaze towards the ground. "What if this isn't the path for me?" he finally asked, his voice strained as he raised his head to look at Roxanne.

She appeared confused, overwhelmed and unsure of what to say back to him.

Realizing the uncomfortable position he put her in, Steven apologized, opting to drop the conversation.

She tugged nervously at the ends of her lacey blouse sleeves.

Beldum's lone red eye switched back and forth between Roxanne and Steven. It quickly sensed the uncomfortable tension and it sprang into action.

Steven felt the familiar nudge on his wrist and he looked down. Immediately, his face relaxed into a delicate smile. "Beldum," he whispered, placing his hand on the top of Beldum's head. "Sorry," he eventually muttered. "I did promise - I mean - we promised each other that we were going to do this, huh?"

Beldum grunted in agreement, flying up to its trainer's shoulder and pressing its cold body against his cheek. Steven chuckled as he brought his hand up to gently pet the smooth, but angular shell of Beldum's body.

Grateful that she could once again see a smile on his face, Roxanne smiled at the heartwarming display of affection between Steven and his pokemon. "Why don't you join me in the stands? We can watch the battles together. I can give you some more pointers as well."

* * *

The street lamps around Rustboro flickered on as soon as the gym emptied out of its trainers. According to Roxanne, it was a longer training session than normal.

"We normally end sometime in the late afternoon," she quipped, "maybe it's because you were here. Mason seems like he really wants you in the arena by the next session."

"When is that again? Next week?"

She nodded as the two stood directly outside the gym, as did several other trainers in their own little groups. "Do you think you're ready for a potential matchup next week? It's okay if you're not." Roxanne smirked, already knowing his answer to the question well before this conversation. She could see it written clearly on his face as they observed the battles earlier.

It was like he was a completely different person.

The gloomy undertones he carried dissipated when he was caught up in observing and dissecting the pokemon battles. The uncertainty and hesitation waned, and in their place was confidence and determination. It was as if he was truly alive.

She could still see it in his eyes as she spoke with him now, so his answer came as no surprise to her.

"I think Beldum and I learned a lot today. Enough so that we can hold our own, at least," Steven commented, laughing when his pokemon chattered excitedly and flew once around its trainer's lithe body.

"It looks like Beldum's ready," Roxanne giggled as she started looking through her backpack.

Steven watched her curiously as she pulled out a slim notebook. His eyes grew slightly when he saw her motion to hand it off to him. "What is this?" he asked.

"My battle notes," she stated proudly, wiggling the notebook slightly in her grip as another indication that he should take it from her. "I'm willing to let you borrow it for this week. It should give you more pointers on pokemon battling."

Touched by her generous gesture, Steven gently took the notebook from her. "I - ...thank you," he responded, his gaze towards her conveying his apologetic response for not being able to word his gratitude.

Roxanne blushed slightly, shooting her gaze off to the side in order to avoid his soft eyes. "It's nothing," she mumbled, "I just want to see you do well in your first battle."

He held the notebook to his chest. "Thank you...I promise -" Steven cut himself off when suddenly, a small group of trainers passed by them, one of the boys in that group bumping his elbow rather roughly into Roxanne's back.

She barely faltered, standing her ground, but the words said in passing by the boy cut deep.

"Look at the weird bookworm, first she sucks up to Leader Mason and now she's sucking up to Mr. Stone's son. She must be desperate for that gym leader position." The group cackled as they walked away.

Steven's lips parted, in pure shock with what he had just witnessed. He turned towards Roxanne, who kept her head down, glaring hard at the ground beneath her. "Uhm," he started, only to be silenced by the young girl.

"- I'll see you next week, okay?"

His eyes widened at her surprising smile, bold and unwavering, despite what had just happened.

"And I want my notebook back safe and sound!" she declared strongly before running off, giving him no chance to talk.

Steven stood there in front of the gym, stunned with her reaction. It took him a while to return to reality and it was only with the help of Beldum, who gently nudged him on the arm.

"O-Oh, Beldum...sorry." He looked on down the road where Roxanne had disappeared towards. "Let's go home then," he said, attempting a smile as he spoke with the small steel pokemon. Steven shot one last look down the road and walked off the opposite way, still holding her notebook in his hand.

His blue eyes dulled as he walked down the cobblestone road.

Despite her smile, he saw through her. Her small hands trembling by her side and the almost overlooked quiver of her bottom lip.

"Roxanne's a strong person."

Beldum looked at its trainer and saw him clutching the notebook Roxanne had given him, staring straight ahead. It was used to Steven thinking aloud. He did so frequently, especially when he was in deep thought. Even though his statement did not warrant a response, Beldum answered with a mechanical chime, as it always did.

* * *

The swell of emotions within him ebbed and flowed, disappearing, then reappearing with full force. Steven sat in the stands overlooking the large arena of the Rustboro Gym. He watched as several gym trainers as well as some students from the trainer's school slowly trickled in. A few of them clustered around him and others took their seats further away, defending their need for personal space.

"Wonder what kind of matches we'll see today," Steven heard from behind him.

"Dunno, but I heard that Mason wants most of the students from the trainer's school to practice battling today. I guess most of the matches will be with them."

He released a slow breath. A sigh of relief.

_"Good,"_ Steven thought, _"maybe they'll be a bit easier than going up against a gym trainer."_

As he continued to try and calm his nerves, Steven noticed Mason had walked into the arena, along with Roxanne following closely behind him. He smiled, locking eyes with her immediately and he gave a slight wave.

She gave a polite bow to her teacher and started heading towards him.

"Ugh, look who it is...no surprise there that the know-it-all rock freak is with Gym Leader Mason again."

Steven quickly recognized the voice to be the same one as the boy that had bumped into Roxanne after last week's training meet. Cautiously, he looked over to his left and unfortunately ended up making direct eye contact with the boy. He snapped his gaze away, pretending like he was minding his own business, but it was too late.

"Oh...I forgot President Stone's son is a friend of hers. _Sorry_," the boy, who seemed to be the same age as him, sneered, directing his words towards Steven. "We'll be sure to keep our voices down."

His heart sped up when he heard them snicker beside him. A lump began forming at the base of his throat uncomfortably. He could not quite put his finger on it, but something about how the boy addressed him put him in a disagreeable mood.

"How have you been?" Roxanne asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. Her perky demeanor was apparent on her bright smile as she took the seat on his right. "Have you been practicing?"

Steven smiled back at her, finding her presence a welcoming distraction to the unpleasant encounter he just had with the boys that sat on the other side of him. "Yes. Oh, I have your notebook for you." He rifled through his satchel and handed the notebook back to her, still immaculate just like how he had received it a week ago. "Thank you," he said. "I learned a lot from it. Beldum did too."

Roxanne giggled into her hand as she put her notebook away in her own bag. "I'm glad."

He noticed her shooting off a glance past him, at the boy that sat on the other side of Steven. That brought him back to what he witnessed with her last week. The more Steven thought about it, the more it was clear that she was being bullied by him. He opened his mouth, wanting to ask her more about it, but stopped himself when he realized that she may not want to talk about it.

She clearly wanted to cry that night, but she ran away from him before she could do so.

"Uhm," he started gently, "do you want to sit somewhere else with me -?"

Roxanne perked up at his offer, but was stopped by the sound of Mason's booming voice.

"Now then! Good morning everyone! Hope you all had a productive week. Did a lot of training, I presume?"

"Yes, sir!" The crowd of students chimed after him.

Mason chuckled deeply. "Good, that's what I like to hear! So," he clapped his hands together once, "shall we start with the first match today? Any volunteers?"

Steven's hand twitched, hovering just above his knee.

"I'll go," a voice lined with arrogance declared next to him.

It was not a surprise when Steven looked over to see the boy that sat next to him, raising his hand, complete with a cocky smile.

"Okay Jean, thank you for volunteering!" Mason exclaimed, smiling broadly once again to accentuate the wrinkles on his face. "Anyone up to face him?"

"Actually...I would like to face _her_."

Roxanne's eyes went wide briefly when she saw him jab a finger over in her direction. Her rust colored eyes narrowed in a mean glare as she snapped back, "you already battled me last week, Jean. Shall I remind you of your loss once more?"

The young crowd of students jeered, whether it was in support of Roxanne or Jean, Steven could not tell.

The boy named Jean pouted. "I just wanted to learn from the future gym leader of Rustboro. I mean, you are a good teacher, Roxanne. Better than all of us, right?"

Steven furrowed his brow upon hearing the subtle mocking tone in Jean's voice as he spoke to Roxanne. It suddenly irritated him greatly.

"I'll battle you."

Roxanne blinked, surprised when she saw Steven raise his hand up to volunteer. "Steven…" she whispered, even more astonished when he confidently stood up.

"Perfect! I would love to see what you can teach us, Steven!" Mason exclaimed, clapping his hands together to elicit a round of applause for the first two volunteers of the day.

Before Steven walked to the arena, the brunette stopped him, grabbing him by his wrist. He looked down at her.

Roxanne noted the different look he held in his eyes. His usual gentle, kind gaze was gone and in its place was a look of bristling anger. At this, she was taken aback further, but she managed to steady herself just enough to offer him a piece of advice.

"Stay level-headed. I forgot to write that in my notebook, but it's the most important I think...for any trainer. You can do this."

She let him go, worried when she did not receive a verbal response from the young boy.

The two boys took their spots at opposing ends of the field. Steven made sure not to lose the edge in his glare towards Jean. How he wished to wipe the smirk off his face.

"So, I get the honor of being your first battle? I'll try to go easy on you," Jean feigned a smile on his angular face. His eyes flickered to Steven's clenched fists by his sides, shaking, and he sneered. "This is gonna be easy," he snickered under his breath. "Go! Geodude!"

"Beldum!" Steven threw out the pokeball containing the small steel pokemon. As soon as Beldum materialized in a brilliant flash of light, it was issued a command. "Use Take Down!"

Roxanne looked on from the stands, flinching when the small pokemon went flying towards Jean's geodude. _"He's already being too reckless. He has no idea what his opponent's battling style is…"_

Beldum crashed into a stray boulder that lay spotted around the arena, missing the geodude that managed to dodge it easily.

"Geodude! Use Rock Throw!"

"Beldum! Take Down!"

Jean smirked, "Rock Throw again!"

Roxanne furrowed her brow, quickly realizing what was happening. She had to hold herself back from shouting at Steven to back off. It was clear to her that Jean was copying what she did to him during their last battle. _"He intends to trap Beldum, to get it to where he wants it before he unleashes an attack. Steven..."_ She desperately hoped that he would be able to see it, but she knew he was suffering from tunnel vision.

Steven grit his teeth, surprised that a geodude was this agile, but he willed himself not to show this surprise. At this point, he could see that Beldum was starting to feel the effects of multiple Take Downs. Its platinum steel body was covered in dirt and a few nicks and scratches were visible. He had to end this in the next few moves.

"Calm down. Roxanne said to calm down. Strategize...what would work in this situation…?"

An arrogant chuckle came from the other side of the field, interrupting Steven's train of thought. He snapped his head up to see Jean dismissively waving his hand at him. "Perhaps you should've chosen your opponent more wisely instead of impulsively jumping in. I think that's something we can all learn from."

Another facade that Steven found grating on his nerves. He found himself forgetting about Beldum's injuries and driven only by pure anger.

"Beldum! You're faster than Geodude! Use another Take Down! You can land this one!" he shouted, hoping his trusted partner would pull through.

Jean shook his head out of pity. "You had no chance since the match started. Geodude, how about we follow up with a Take Down of our own? Let's see if your beldum can withstand another hit!"

Pain filled Beldum's tiny body, but it shot forward using the last of its strength in a determined leap of faith. It knew Steven was counting on it to bring home a victory, their very first battle resulting in a win. It sharpened its lone red eye in a mean glare as it collided with the opposing geodude.

And that was all it could remember.

Steven's heart sank as the recoil flung Beldum's small body towards him. The sturdy steel pokemon skidded and came to rest just before his feet. His lips parted as his silvery blue eyes widened in paralyzed shock, staring at his partner's battered body. The usual bright red eye gone, disappearing into the inky darkness of his core.

"Bel...dum," he breathed out, kneeling to care for it. "Beldum...h - hey...you can still fight…? Tell me you can -"

A shrill whistle sounded. "- Beldum is down! Jean and Geodude wins!" the referee officially called.

There was a loud ringing in Steven's ears as he sat there, kneeling over Beldum's motionless body. He had read all the strategies used by rock-type trainers. He watched so many gym matches. He had Roxanne's notes to help, so how? How did he lose so miserably?

In his state of petrified shock, Steven barely noticed a pair of feet standing before him. He kept his head down, his eyes still glued onto Beldum.

"Hey." Jean placed a hand on Steven's left shoulder, bringing himself down to his level. "Cheer up. At least you still have your daddy's company to look forward to. Shame though, it seems like all that _money_ can't buy you _skill_."

Blood pounded in his head and the echoes of his heartbeat were deafening on his ears as Steven blankly let himself be helped up by Jean, who feigned a smile just as Mason came up to them.

"That was an excellent battle, you two!" Mason congratulated with a wide grin. "Jean, your sportsmanship knows no bounds."

"Of course," the blond haired boy said with a gracious nod of his head. "I know this was his first battle. I'm sure a loss is such a shock."

Roxanne ran up to them, shooting off a glare at Jean as she passed him. She did not linger on him as her priority was making sure that Steven and Beldum were okay. "Steven!" she exclaimed, concerned when she saw how he was still so unresponsive. "Please...recall Beldum. We should get it to the Pokemon Center."

He finally glanced at her, his silvery blue eyes listless and devoid of energy. "Right," he managed to croak out, unclipping Beldum's pokeball from his belt.

"Teacher! I'll escort Steven to the Pokemon Center!" Roxanne informed Mason, quickly ushering Steven out of the gym after he returned Beldum to its pokeball.

As soon as the two exited the gym, Steven spoke.

"...I can go by myself," he muttered, keeping his head turned away from the young girl.

"What? Steven, I don't mind taking you -"

"- How can you stand it?"

"_Huh_…?" Roxanne looked up at him, trying to understand what he was getting at. "I'm afraid I don't understand -"

"- Why don't you fight back against Jean?" Steven finally asked her, his voice cracking under the stress he endured. "He says awful things about you and you know it! But...I…" He let out a harsh breath. "I..._lost_…" His voice trailed off.

The young girl furrowed her brow and remained silent. "...Didn't I tell you, you needed to keep your cool?"

"You think I can keep my cool when he's saying those things about me?" he suddenly shouted, his eyes wide with anger.

Roxanne snapped her mouth shut. "I see...it's about _you_." She took her hands off his arm and backed away. "For the record...Steven...I never asked you to fight for my sake."

And before he realized the error of his ways, Steven watched Roxanne run back into the gym, leaving him to go to the Pokemon Center alone.

Just like he asked.

* * *

_"Steel-types have an advantage over rock-types…page 2."_

"It seems that we have enough funding to go through with the project. We can send a team down to the Desert Ruins this week to start the excavation process."

_"Beldum does have good defense, but I'll need to find a way to use that to our advantage...page 10, 'Using the best of your pokemon's natural strengths'."_

"I agree. The sooner we can get a hold of a good fossil sample, the sooner we can put this project into action. Does the board approve of the use of shareholder funds to begin construction on the revitalization machine?"

"President Stone, we would also need to select a team leader for the excavation process."

"Ah, in that case -"

_"Don't make the same mistake as last time. I can beat him -"_

"- Steven?"

The young teen blinked, his thoughts interrupted by the sound of his father's voice. He focused his eyes on the old man, who looked at him with a bit of concern. "Y - Yes?" Steven stammered, quickly realizing that he was the center of attention in the entire conference room.

Joseph wrinkled his brow, astutely catching on that his son was not paying attention to the contents of the previous discussion at all. He spoke carefully, hoping not to tip off his board members that his son was daydreaming in the middle of an important meeting. "We were talking about selecting a team leader for the excavation project. It would be in the Desert Ruins. Would you be interested? You would just need to report back any findings and data to the next board meeting. It's nothing too rigorous."

Finding himself unable to outright deny his father's request, Steven rolled the ball point pen in between his slender fingers. He tried not to sound apprehensive. "Uhm, when would it be?"

A rather loud, intentional scoff came from the other end of the conference table. The board member quickly masked it with a cough, but Steven swallowed harshly at the sting it caused in his chest. All he could do was try to ignore that it happened.

His father, patient, smiled softly as any understanding parent would. "It would be a week from now," he answered.

Steven dropped his gaze briefly, realizing that it was on the same day as the day he planned to challenge Jean for a rematch. "I...actually have something else to go to that day."

He could immediately see the disappointment on his father's face.

"Of course. You must honor your prior engagements after all, Steven." Joseph managed a smile at his son before turning his attention to the board members. "How about you all let me decide on a team leader? Unless a vote is absolutely necessary."

"I don't think it's necessary to vote," one of the female board members commented.

"Then it's settled. Let's end our board meeting here for today."

Steven sighed, relieved that the dry board meeting was over. He stood up from the plush leather seat, quickly gathering his materials and eager enough to leave the room. The only thing on his mind was heading down to the coves on the outskirts of Rustboro to train with Beldum before the tides got too high.

"Steven."

He was stopped by his father's kind, but firm voice.

Joseph watched his son, fidgeting in place. He sighed, smiling afterwards. "Are you well? I'm sorry if I haven't spoken to you like this in a while."

Steven avoided his father's eyes, opting to look at the ground, suddenly finding the burgundy colored carpet fascinating. "It's okay, Dad," he muttered, slouching his shoulders slightly. He lightly bit the inside of his cheek when an uncomfortable silence filled the space between them. It was not until the last board member left, that his father started speaking again.

"I've been so busy with this project that I'm always home when you're already in bed," Joseph chuckled wistfully. "Our chef has been telling me you've been eating well."

"Mm," Steven grunted behind closed lips.

"Are your classes going well?"

"Yeah."

"That's good to hear. Not too much work?"

"A little, but it's easy." Steven thumbed the cap to his pen, flicking it on and off as he quietly watched his father's expression. He eventually relented and asked, "Dad...did you want to ask me something?"

Joseph chuckled, a wistful smile on his face. "My son...sharp as ever." He cleared his throat carefully and spoke slowly, unsure of how to confront his son. "...The...other servants in the house told me that you've been coming back rather late every day for the past week. I know your classes end in the early afternoon, so I would like to know where you've been, Steven."

Steven stopped fiddling with his pen and grew silent. He suddenly found himself growing irate rather than worried. He knew it was unbecoming of him and logic told him that his father was just concerned. However, all logical thought began leaving him with what he perceived as a threat to his freedom.

"I've just been out," he replied dismissively.

It was the worst answer he could possibly say, but he had no heart to tell his father that he was relegating the time he could have spent studying the inner working of the corporate world in place for what he was actually doing, which was training with Beldum for their upcoming battle.

"Out," Joseph repeated under his breath. He released a heavy breath through his nose, his lips pursed shut.

Steven, realizing his error, swallowed a growing lump in his throat and steadily spoke again. "I've been meeting with some of my classmates. We help each other with our assignments." He watched his father carefully, taking note of every single nuance of his body language.

The growing silence unnerved Steven slowly, making him unprepared for what he heard from his father next.

"...It appears that I've been neglecting you too much recently. Did I just give you too much freedom, Steven?"

The anger within Steven spiked up once more. "_Freedom_?" he asked incredulously.

"It's not like you to lie, Steven."

_Unexpected._

Steven faltered, freezing up at the word. "L-Lie?...Dad...I -"

Joseph set his jaw. "- Steven. You've been using all your time training with Beldum, _wasting_ your time watching those pokemon battles at the Rustboro Gym -!"

"- It's not a waste of my time!" Steven yelled, causing both his father and himself to freeze. His stupor only lasted for a second before he resumed riding the violent waves of his anger.

There was what seemed like a long pause between the father and son. Finally, Steven spoke, his voice crescendoing with each sentence.

He struggled with his words, stuttering when he did not want to. "I want...I want to be a pokemon trainer! I want to travel the world, I...I want to battle all kinds of trainers! Dad, I don't want to be trapped in an office the entire day looking over spreadsheets and," he released a pent-up breath, feeling the hot sting of incoming tears in his eyes. "I can't just sit here and let _my_ life pass me by just because I'm trying to live _yours_!"

By now, Joseph stood there, stunned. His mouth hung open, lips parted just slightly as he took in everything his son said with a heavy heart, realizing that he had been hurting his own son this entire time. He returned to reality, no longer analyzing Steven's words within the confines of his mind. It was then he realized that his son was crying, huffing and desperately trying to contain his frustration.

"Steven…" Joseph whispered, reaching out to touch his son's arm, only to have him violently pull away.

"...Don't pretend like you _care_ all of a sudden." Steven wiped away his tears angrily with the back of his hand. He pushed his way past his father. He knew his harsh words were like knives driven into his father's heart, but he could care less. All he wanted to do was leave.

With hot tears streaking down his face, Steven kept his head down and ran past every Devon employee, even those that tried to greet him personally.

When he made it to the elevators, he pounded the button to go down and found himself growing more irate with each passing second the elevator did not come as ordered. It finally arrived and Steven had every emotion boiling to the very brim that he wished to get out in a heroic yell, only to have it crash down on him in a pathetic whimper.

He cried.

The doors to the elevator slid shut.

Steven inserted his keycard into the elevator's control panel and knowing that he had complete privacy, he slumped against the far wall, in complete and utter silence. Eventually, the only sound that came from him was sniffling and his breaths coming out only in stunted hiccups. At first he held his face, but then his hands traveled up to his hair, tangling themselves in his short teal locks. He raised his head and immediately caught sight of his reflection in the elevator's doors.

_Pathetic._

He hardly looked like a future candidate to be president of Devon. He hardly looked like an aspiring pokemon trainer. He certainly did not look like someone who can confidently command his pokemon on the battlefield.

Steven swallowed a hard lump in his throat.

All he could see reflected back at him was an overzealous trainer who carelessly got his pokemon injured, a horrible person who pushed away the one person that tried to help him, and a spoiled brat who yells at their only father. It was a harsh sight, but Steven kept his eyes on himself.

He had to face the ugly truth.

* * *

**A/N **Hope you were all okay after that roller coaster of a chapter! It was really tough writing younger Steven to still be believable enough to his older, canon counterpart. But! It was honestly a lot of fun writing his ranger of emotions this chapter.

Just wanted to take a real quick moment to thank **Wolflyn** for their amazing reviews! I really enjoy reading about how you felt while reading this fic! Also thanks to **AnimeLuver1492** for their review a few chapters ago :)

Hope you all stay safe!

-ZERO-


	9. First Friends

**A/N **Ran into some computer problems while typing this chapter, so /shakes fist.

**Meteor**

**Chapter 9 - First Friends**

* * *

He did not think it would take this long to treat Beldum.

The monotonous beeping sound produced by the machine monitoring Beldum's condition was the only sound Steven could hear as he sat by the small pokemon's bedside. He kept his dull light blue eyes on his injured, unconscious partner before dropping his head. A deep sigh flowed past his lips as he resorted to lacing and unlacing his fingers together in his lap.

Steven cast his gaze off to the side, resting his eyes on the lone pokeball that belonged to Beldum. It caught the soft sunlight that was filtering into the room gently.

He felt foolish for assuming that Beldum would be okay a day after such an intense first battle. To think that he was about to pick up Beldum yesterday after the board meeting and go straight to training with it. As if things could be that simple.

"Beldum…" the young man croaked out as he brought his gaze back towards the unconscious pokemon lying on the cold steel slab. Steven reached out his hand to gently place it atop its round head. "I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice hoarse. "I really failed you as your trainer again, didn't I? I pushed you too hard."

Steven let out a broken-hearted chuckle when he saw how bruised and damaged Beldum's body was. The normally glossy exterior was dented, scratched, and lacerated in some parts. His heart ached even further knowing that he was the one that did this. Steven stopped himself short of letting tears well up in his eyes when he heard the door opening behind him.

"I am so sorry for the wait, Steven!" Nurse Joy's chipper voice floated in as she came into the room with Chansey.

He shifted on the stool he was sitting on slightly to face her.

She immediately took notice of his somber mood and she smiled in an attempt to calm him. "Beldum will be fine. I can promise you that! That's the good thing about these newly discovered steel-type pokemon. They can endure anything!"

Steven quietly nodded, skeptical with her optimism. He looked over at Beldum again and got up off his seat to allow Chansey to treat it.

"It's just going to take some time...like the last time Beldum was in here," she explained further.

"Of course," Steven muttered, showing his growing remorse openly as he kept his eyes on his battered partner.

Nurse Joy watched him with a worried gaze. She held onto her clipboard as she quietly wrote down Beldum's condition and information on its health monitor. As the tip of her pen scratched softly against the paper, she started speaking, picking up her chipper tone once more. "Pokemon are quite forgiving, more so than humans, I think."

Steven remained unreactive.

"I've seen my fair share of trainers walk in here with their pokemon, injured and hurt. Especially with the gym here. Some trainers, you can tell, pushed their pokemon too hard." Nurse Joy casually glanced up from her clipboard to see Steven's face tense up at her words. "Perhaps in the moment they were caught up in the spirit of competition. I'm sure it's exhilarating and even if their pokemon got seriously hurt, you know what I've always noticed?"

Steven locked eyes with the nurse and saw her smile warmly.

"Their pokemon end up loving them all the same. _You_ should remember," she emphasized.

Despite it being seven years ago, Steven could still remember the fateful day Beldum officially became his pokemon, moment by moment. He remembered watching the meteor shower, elated that Beldum had forgiven him and that it chose to become his pokemon partner. He was babbling on nonsensically with the small pokemon into the late hours of the night on that cliffside. And he could remember how as he spoke, the excitement overwhelmed his small body and he let tears stream down the sides of his face as he laid there with a wide grin, watching the beautiful night sky with Beldum by his side.

Beldum. His first friend.

"Is there anything I can do for Beldum now?"

The nurse instantly smiled when she saw him smiling gently and quickly wiping away his tears with the back of his hand. "Of course," she responded, "I always recommend trainers to bring in foods that their pokemon usually enjoy. It helps recover not only their bodies, but their spirits as well."

The young man nodded enthusiastically, his face suddenly reflecting urgency as he checked his watch. "I know exactly what Beldum likes to eat! I - I think I can go out for the ingredients right now!"

Nurse Joy stammered, "o-of course, Steven! But there really is no rush! Beldum needs its rest first of all and I don't think it'll be waking up anytime today. Perhaps tomorrow -?" Before she could even finish her sentence, Steven was out the door. She let out a sigh, but followed it up with her usual kind smile.

She returned her attention back to the task at hand.

"I think he's already a fine pokemon trainer, don't you think so too, Chansey?"

The plump pink pokemon responded, chirping happily.

* * *

The shoreline near Rustboro was unforgiving and Roxanne knew this better than anyone else. During low tide, the waters would recede, revealing a plethora of small coves littered with glittering seashells and some rare mineral deposits that was the target for the young brunette. However, when the tides would change, the water would come flooding in mercilessly and the waves would cover up any evidence of the treasures that the coves held.

That was why as soon as the sun began to set, Roxanne left the coves that she was exploring. She had not been there long, but she got what she went there for.

"We got a lot of nice minerals for you, Nosepass!" she exclaimed, happily hauling her heavy bag full of the brown and black rocks that glittered slightly from the magnetic minerals embedded within them.

The angular rock-type pokemon silently hobbled alongside its trainer, vibrating its body at the mention of the tasty stones.

Roxanne giggled, her round face bright as she pat the top of her pokemon's head. "Let's clean these up as soon as we get home so that you can eat them. I'm sure you're really hungry!"

As the pair made it onto the main section of the beach, Roxanne set down her bag briefly, letting out an exhaustive sigh as she rotated her shoulder. "We really did find a lot today, didn't we? My bag's a bit heavier than usual - Nosepass?" The young girl suddenly noticed her usually attentive pokemon facing away from her and instead back towards where they came from. "What's up…? Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed, quickly noticing a person struggling against the rocks as the waves crashed into them.

Without any hesitation, Roxanne jumped into action, instructing Nosepass to stay back.

As she ran closer, she could see that it was a familiar face.

"Steven!" she called out frantically, as she climbed up onto the rock formation carefully. "Take my hand!" she shouted, reaching down to help him.

The young man reached up to catch her hand without any hesitation.

He was heavier than Roxanne expected, but she managed to pull him up with his help and with the luck they had with the waves receding briefly during the rescue. She guided him off the rocky shore and allowed him to catch his breath once they made it to the soft sand, out of reach from the growing waves.

Roxanne panted, coming down from her adrenaline high as she sunk down so that she was sitting on the sand opposite from him. She watched as he lay there crouched on all fours, coughing out the water he inhaled and getting a better grasp for what had just happened. When she finally regained her breath, Roxanne scolded him.

"What were you doing out there? Were you trying to get killed?"

She knew her tone was sharp, but she was unrelenting, even when she saw him finally fall back onto his bottom with an apologetic look on his face.

"...I was trying to look for something," Steven whispered, occasionally letting out a cough as he got rid of the residual seawater that invaded his lungs.

"Oh? I sure hope you found it because it nearly got you killed! You know the tides here rise unpredictably when the sun goes down," Roxanne snapped, brow heavily furrowed and eyes wide with anger. She watched him, chest huffing up and down as she saw him open up his clenched fist to produce a small black pebble. Her jaw dropped. "Don't tell me that's -"

Steven's head drooped, he himself also disappointed with the measly stone.

"I can't believe you," she scoffed, moving to squeeze the seawater out of her twin pigtails. "You nearly died for a _pebble_?"

Roxanne waited, but was provided only with silence from him. She kept her eyes on him and noticed his befallen expression. The initial anger within her faded, along with the last rays of the sun as it sunk into the horizon. Suddenly feeling embarrassed with how angry she had gotten at his irresponsibility, she kept her gaze averted from him.

It was Steven who finally spoke.

"...I was looking for some of the magnetic minerals here in the coves. I know they get washed ashore here frequently, but I couldn't find any today. Usually there's quite a bit."

The young girl widened her eyes, quickly realizing that he was searching for the same stones that she had hoarded away in her backpack. As if on cue, she heard Nosepass come up behind her, dragging her heavy backpack behind it in the sand as it hooked one of the straps against its flat arm. Roxanne took the backpack from her pokemon and faced Steven again. "What did you need them for? They're not particularly pretty stones that you'd collect or display."

Steven began shivering, a cold ocean air coming in now that the sun was absent. "You know what they are?" he asked, surprised that she was knowledgeable of the bland looking stones.

"Of course I do," she replied with a roll of her eyes. "What kind of rock-type specialist would I be if I didn't even know about rocks?"

Faced with the same condescending tone that Roxanne had used towards him when they first met, Steven pulled his lips to one side in an annoyed frown. "Well, sorry. I'm just used to people being completely clueless when I tell them about certain stones. You're one of the last people I expected to know anything about rocks."

Roxanne glared at him. "And why's that? Because I'm a girl?"

"Because you're a _kid_."

She slammed her fists down into the sand beside her. "I told you, you can't say that! Not when you're only three years older than me!"

"I'm still older," he responded with a slight eye roll.

Roxanne growled and sharply stood up. "I practically saved your life and this is how you talk to me?" Refusing to take part in the growing argument, which Roxanne deemed childish, she pursed her lips together tightly, determined to walk away from him. However, she stopped herself short.

Steven remained sitting on the sand, his gaze cast off to the side and down at the sand until he heard a dull thump of something hitting the sand in front of him. His eyes instantly widened when he saw a pokeball-sized magnetic mineral sitting there. He looked up at Roxanne and finally met her eyes. "Where did you…?"

"Where else?" she responded sharply. "From the coves of course. You should have come here earlier if you wanted one. You know, for someone who's supposedly smart, you make a lot dumb decisions."

He watched her produce another mineral from her packed bag, which he assumed was full of the stones he had been looking for. Immediately, Steven frowned and vehemently shook his head. "I don't need yours."

"Don't be stubborn," Roxanne scoffed as she dropped a few more stones in front of him. "You really need these right? Otherwise you would've let go of that little pebble as soon as you were in trouble earlier."

The corners of Steven's mouth refused to turn up. He was starting to grow irate. His voice grew in volume. "I said I don't need your stones -!"

"- Take it!"

"- I don't need your help -!"

"- Shut up! This is exactly why you're in this mess!" Roxanne yelled, her voice louder than the waves that crashed onto the beach. It was enough to silence the young man into shock and she used this chance to get her frustrations about him off her chest. She pulled another one out of her bag and shoved it towards him, holding it out in a tight clenched hand. "You need these stones for Beldum, right?"

Steven flinched at the mention of his pokemon's name.

Roxanne immediately took notice of this and held the stone she held closer to his face. "I know these help pokemon with a magnetic core heal faster from injuries when consumed. That's why I feed them to Nosepass as well. Take them! Beldum's still in the Pokemon Center, right?"

It was tempting, but Steven set his jaw and turned his head away from her stubbornly. "I said I don't need your help. I can do this by myself."

Roxanne growled behind gritted teeth and threw her bag down beside her. She bent down to grab the collar of his dark blue dress shirt with both her hands. With a surprising show of strength on her part, she yanked him forward, displaying the intensity of her mounting anger physically.

Before Steven could react, he felt a jarring impact directly on his forehead. He let out a sharp cry and fell back onto the sand, holding a hand over his now reddening brow. His head went numb for a brief second before a jarring pain shot through his body. Furious, he blurted out, "what's wrong with you!?"

Roxanne stood over him, her own forehead already an angry red, but she remained completely unfazed by the painful injury. "What's wrong with _you_!?" she repeated his words, shouting and seething with anger. "I told you last time, this shouldn't be about you! This isn't the time to uphold your stupid pride! Who said you needed to do everything by yourself -?"

"- Who said I wanted your help?" Steven cut in like a razor sharp knife. "Beldum's my pokemon! My friend! What kind of trainer would I be if I can't even take care of my own pokemon? How can I be a better trainer when I need to rely on other people for help all the time!? I need to be able to protect Beldum and other people -!"

She bent down to grab him by the front of his shirt again. "And do you think you're proving any of that by recklessly challenging people like Jean to a pokemon battle?"

He dodged her question, looking at her incredulously as if he was trying to avoid her verbal confrontation altogether. "Let go of me!" he tried to firmly demand, only to falter the delivery pathetically.

"You can't become a good pokemon trainer just on sheer will and a good heart, Steven," she continued, her anger growing into a physical display of hot tears flowing freely from her eyes. "And you can't become a hero if you want to do everything on your own." Roxanne's grip and voice softened as she whispered, "you can rely on other people too, you know."

Steven saw how her once furious expression fell into a more somber one. He came to a slow realization. "...Roxanne," he said her name gently, watching her fall to the sand, finally being on the same level as him.

She sniffled, holding her head down as she quietly wiped away the tears falling from her eyes. "...I wish you trusted me enough to handle Jean on my own."

The way her voice cracked pierced Steven's chest rather painfully.

"I was handling him on my own. It might look like he's bullying me because I'm a bookworm or a know-it-all, but I don't care about any of it. He can say what he wants about me. I know who I am. I know that I want to be Rustboro's next gym leader and I want to teach at the trainer's school. I don't need to prove that to anyone else, not even Jean."

Steven watched her with a downtrodden gaze, slowly realizing how shameful his erratic behavior was after hearing her explanation. He sat there quietly reflecting over his behavior and soon noticing her nosepass hobble over to Roxanne's side to provide comfort for its trainer. He gave them a sideways glance, briefly watching them before turning his attention back down to the magnetic minerals lying in the sand just a stride away from him.

Roxanne sounded like she knew exactly what she wanted to do with her life. She had her heart set out for it, her goals clear and that path towards it even clearer. Steven felt himself pale in comparison.

"I was right from the start," he quietly started, grabbing Roxanne's attention. Steven turned to face her and flashed her a warm smile. "You _are_ strong."

She parted her lips to thank him, moved by what he said, but stopped when he continued.

The mood between them finally grew calm.

"...I'm sorry...for ever doubting you. I should have taken your advice to heart back then. Maybe then, I would've won." Steven's smile faded a little as he played with the sand beneath him, drawing small circles into the loose surface. "...Maybe if I was more like you...stronger and more sure of myself, I wouldn't have let Jean's words get to me so easily."

Roxanne blinked at him for a moment, but relaxed her face into a smile. "While that is flattering, Steven...maybe it's because you followed my advice that you lost."

He gave her a confused look.

"What I'm saying is, you should try to find your own style. Along with Beldum. What is a battle style that works for both of you?" Roxanne saw him slowly understand what she was getting at, so she decided to drive it home. "During your battle with Jean, you were thinking about what I said, right? You were running through my notes in your head, trying to remember what I wrote down."

Steven nodded, reluctant to answer at first since she hit the nail right on the head.

She added on. "I know I just said don't follow my advice, but just follow this last one I'm about to give you. _Don't be like me_. Or anyone else for that matter."

He blinked, widening his eyes slightly at the piece of advice. "Don't be like you," he repeated slowly.

"Or anyone else," she reiterated. "You can watch as many battles as you want, but you won't become the best just by copying others."

Steven chuckled dryly. "You have a point. But the _best_? I don't remember saying that about myself."

Roxanne returned his humorless laugh with a warm giggle. "You're going to have to be the best if you want to challenge the Hoenn League, right?" She laughed again at the puzzled look he gave her. "Don't look at me like that. I know you want to. Even though you were worried about your father's opinion when Mason mentioned the league, I know you wouldn't have even talked to me about those concerns if you weren't actually interested."

The only thing Steven could do was sheepishly rub the back of his neck. He offered up no retort or shy come back, and instead chose to direct his attention back at the small pile of stones Roxanne had given him.

"You better take them," she commented, turning her eyes into a sour glare as she spoke. "I actually worked really hard to gather this much. Plus, Nosepass was looking forward to eating all of it herself."

The angular pokemon let out a low hum, stamping its feet a few times.

"She's agreed to let you take some since it's for Beldum's sake," Roxanne added in, patting the top of Nosepass' head. Her face immediately loosened back up into a grin as she giggled at his hesitation as he grabbed one of the stones. "I'm just joking. Take them! I gave them to you. They're yours."

"I-I'll repay you and Nosepass somehow -"

"- Forget it."

" - But-"

Roxanne sighed, relinquishing the breath with a smile. "...We're friends aren't we? I don't want my friends to repay me."

"Friends…?" Steven whispered, his eyes widening slightly as he stared at her, astonishment clear on his face. His mouth was parted slightly and the look of complete child-like innocent was on his face.

She found herself feeling slightly embarrassed with how he was reacting to it. It was unexpected. "O - Of course. At least, I considered us friends way before this. I wouldn't have lent you my notebook if I didn't trust you." Roxanne continued to see the stunned expression on his face and she blushed, flustered by him. "Wh - What? Don't tell me you're figuring this out just now!"

Steven stammered dumbly, quickly shoving the mineral stones into his satchel. "I wasn't sure what to expect! I - I've never had a friend before. I mean, aside from Beldum."

Roxanne crossed her arms over her chest, huffing, before letting her expression relax. "I suppose...I might have gone about it wrong as well. I've never actually had a friend before either, so I guess we're the same."

Feeling a rush of giddiness flutter in his chest, Steven remained silent as he packed the rest of the stones in his bag. He knew that if he opened his mouth now, he would say something his new friend would deem as stupid. It was just something that happened when he was overwhelmed by his emotions.

_"My first friend,"_ Steven thought, practically feeling imaginary flowers dancing over his head, as he stood up and slung the bag over his shoulder.

"Come on. You should get home," Roxanne noted, "you've been shivering for the entire time. Even though we're in Hoenn, it's still winter." She recalled Nosepass back into its pokeball and started the trek back up towards Rustboro.

Steven walked alongside her, still elated with her declaration for a friendship with him. As he walked up the stairs leading back up to the city, he heard her ask him a question.

"Are you okay back there? You've been really quiet."

Roxanne sharply turned around to face him and narrowed her eyes down at him. He was clearly lost in thought.

"Steven," she sternly said before he bumped into her.

"H-Huh?" He looked up at her, eyes wide like discs.

"You space out a lot, don't you?"

"No I don't," he responded with an indignant frown.

"You just were." Roxanne sighed as she continued her climb up the stairs. "I didn't think I hit you that hard. My head stopped hurting ages ago."

"But that's you!" he shouted out after her as he ran to catch up to the young girl. "And that's what I was thinking about!"

"What?"

"The way you headbutted me! I don't think friends do that!" Steven retorted.

"I did it because I needed to knock some sense into you!" Roxanne shouted back at him as she made it to the top of the stairs. "Friends need to do that to each other sometimes!"

"By headbutting them?"

Her eyes narrowed at him when she stopped briefly just to process how oblivious he was. "Goodnight, Steven." Roxanne turned and walked away, expecting another retort from him, but instead she received an unexpectedly warm message.

"Roxanne, thank you...again."

She stopped briefly.

Steven smiled ardently, holding his hand tenderly over the top of his bag, filled with the precious stones that would greatly aid in Beldum's recovery. "Not for the headbutt, but for the stones."

Roxanne could not help, but feel a blush creep up her face. She did not dare turn around, acutely aware that he would be sporting one of his genuine smiles that caused her heart to flutter. "...You didn't need to clarify it. I know what you meant. I hope Beldum recovers soon. ...It was no problem," she ended up mumbling awkwardly at the end.

Steven watched her leave, speed walking down the streets of Rustboro and soon disappearing into the small crowds of people. He smiled on after her before turning his attention to the heavy load of stones in his bag.

Now it was time to focus his attention on his other friend, Beldum.

* * *

A calm, soothing morning breeze greeted Beldum as soon as it opened its eye. It stirred slightly, rolling its body over and realizing that it was on a metal bed with a wire hooked up to its head. It chimed softly, feeling somewhat groggy, but well enough to stand itself up on its hand.

Beldum immediately caught a whiff of something delicious. A wondrous scent promising food to satisfy its empty stomach. As its vision continued to clear up, Beldum caught sight of the source of the scent. There were two small bowls sitting on the counter across the care room. One was filled with diced sitrus berries and the other was filled with pebble-like chunks of its favorite magnetic minerals.

It did not have enough strength to dart over to the delectable meals yet, but something else stopped it. A huddled mass that remained by its bedside.

Beldum blinked, its vision finally returning to full power as it let its eye rest on the image of his trainer, sleeping soundly with his head tucked into his arms. It curiously peered over, prodding at Steven's arm, careful not to agitate him with too much force that he would fall out of the stool he was sitting on.

From what the small pokemon had learned, this was not an ideal position for humans to sleep in. It would frequently see Steven sleeping like this in his room, over his work desk as the young man poured over his studies overnight. In the morning, Beldum would notice how tired he looked compared to when he slept in a warm, soft bed lying down. While a steel plated table was more than enough for Beldum to get its rest, it knew the same cannot be said for its trainer.

It prodded at Steven's arm again, hoping to wake him. During its attempt, Beldum moved him slightly so that his once hidden hand slipped out from underneath his arm.

His trainer's delicate, lithe fingers were covered in bandages. This immediately alarmed Beldum, fearing that Steven was gravely injured and pushed its trainer's shoulder urgently, chiming loudly in order to wake him.

"...Erm, wha...?" Steven murmured as he finally woke up. He was oblivious to Beldum's desperate cries at first, instead moving his injured hands to rub the sleep from his eyes. When he pushed too hard on one particular cut on his hand, he winced, sharply drawing the injured hand back and causing Beldum to screech with worry.

Continuously oblivious to Beldum's concerns, Steven's face instantly lit up at the sight of his partner finally awake and he drew the small pokemon in for a hug. "Beldum! You're awake!" he exclaimed, elated that it regained consciousness.

Beldum continued to hum and squeak incessantly, its red eye darting back and forth from Steven's hand to his face.

"Hm?" Steven pulled away from his pokemon and saw it vibrating excessively with worry. He looked down at his hands, both of which were covered in bandages. "Oh. This? Don't worry, Beldum. I'm fine!"

This failed to quell the small pokemon's worry. It chattered wildly.

"It's okay. I never cut a sitrus berry before, so I didn't know they were so hard! Our chef makes it look so easy," Steven laughed as he went to go grab the two bowls of food for Beldum. "Here you go!"

Beldum stared at the diced sitrus berries, a sweet fruity aroma rising from them. It was irresistible, but the only thing holding the small pokemon back from devouring the treats was its concern over Steven's injuries. Beldum could vividly picture its trainer clumsily handling the cutlery in the kitchen as he attempted to chop the hard sitrus berries in the large kitchen back at their house.

"This is nothing, Beldum," Steven smiled gently as he urged his partner to eat. His voice dropped to a dull whisper. "It's nothing compared to the pain I put you through."

Beldum chimed softly, looking at Steven and then back down at his hands, then at the food.

"Remember that promise we made to each other? Back when we became friends?"

It returned its gaze to its trainer as he spoke.

"I thought I could reach that promise sooner if we beat Jean. I wanted to be strong...like Roxanne, but ...trying to be strong isn't the same as _actually_ being strong, is it?" Steven let out a wistful, dry laugh as he held his injured hands. "I'm sorry, Beldum," he said softly, reaching out to pat the top of its head. "For putting you through all this. ...From the bottom of my heart, I'm sorry."

Despite it feeling weak, Beldum thrust itself forward to bury its head into Steven's chest. It hummed lowly, its red eye closed in joyful bliss.

Steven laughed softly, holding the pokemon close to him. He felt tears bead in his eyes as he reopened them to look at Beldum. His vision blurred heavily to the point where he could no longer see the small pokemon, but he grinned through the tears. "You're willing to forgive this stupid trainer of yours so easily?"

It let out a mechanical sounding grunt, flexing its golden colored claws.

"It seems like your heart is as big as your stomach, Beldum."

The small pokemon let out what sounded like an annoyed hum as it quickly flew over to the sitrus berries and minerals to start eating them ravenously.

Steven laughed again, wiping away at his tears with the sleeve of his dark gray hoodie. "You only forgave me because I brought you your favorite foods? O-kay," he scoffed playfully.

A low chime.

"Fine, I'll just accept it. No more questions," he chuckled as he watched Beldum continue to eat.

As the minutes of silence wore on, Steven waited until Beldum was on its last mineral stone to deliver his next statement.

"Beldum, I've made up my mind."

It blinked its lone red eye.

The young man smiled confidently. "Let's go on that adventure we always wanted to go on. Let's go see the world."

Excitement coursed through Beldum's small body. The dreams it made with Steven was finally going to come true.

"But...first thing's first."

Beldum blinked curiously.

Steven's face suddenly grew quite grim. "How are we going to convince dad?"

* * *

**A/N **Our boy Steven is slowly changing for the better :)

Hopefully this quells your concerns **Wolflyn. **You and I both know this is a prequel, but he will be safe! I promise!

So I just wanted to point out really quick in general regarding Steven's temper last chapter. I was a bit fearful that someone would point out how OOC his temper was. Yes, he was definitely volatile and I hope that the gradual build-up that chapter allowed for his argument with his father to be more believable. I don't want him to seem OOC at all. Which brings me to say, I always believe everyone has different things that make them lash out. You just have to "push" the right buttons, if you will. Steven is a calm person at his base, especially with what we've seen in the canon material. The man was unfazed when he found out Lysandre used him like a tissue to further his own goals in XYZ. That is some serious emotional control. However, even the most calm person has triggers and I think a trait like emotional control is earned and trained. You'd have to be Buddha himself to not react to certain words or situations. (I mean, even Buddha didn't become Buddha from the very beginning.)

Anyways, hope that kinda gets the point across. I've tried so far to illustrate what Steven cannot tolerate at this point in his life and *hopefully* its apparent as to what some of these triggers are.

Sorry, long A/N, but hope you are all staying safe! Reviews are always super appreciated and I do respond to each one in the next chapter's A/N!

-ZERO-


	10. Helix

**A/N **I love listening to music while writing, so for this chapter and the following few chapters, I was listening to "HUNGRY DAYS x BUMP OF CHICKEN". Give it a listen if you'd like! You don't need to be a One Piece fan like me to enjoy the music video, but my friends who don't watch One Piece have said they enjoy the video as well. The song at least is very soft and catchy. Absolutely perfect for writing this story.

**Meteor**

**Chapter 10 - Helix**

* * *

It was a beautiful day, an endless blue sky, painted with the occasional puffy white cloud that lazily drifted across. The sunlight bathed the huge metagross as it quietly made its way through a large field. Each footstep it took thumped lightly against the grass beneath its four claws.

_"Meteor Falls, Beldum!"_ It could hear its trainer's upbeat voice clearly in its head. _"That's where we need to go!"_

It let out a low growl, lumbering slowly, making sure that it did not trample any patches of flowers that littered the field.

* * *

"Beldum, use Take Down!"

"Nosepass! Let's counter it with a Harden!"

Roxanne smirked when Nosepass successfully withstood the strong impact. She saw her pokemon wobble, nearly falling over from the way Beldum's attack threw it off balance. When she looked up to meet Steven's eyes, she could tell from his smile that he noticed.

"Impressive. Beldum's getting more powerful with each battle."

The teen boy was brimming with excitement as he spoke. "I know, right? Beldum's building up its endurance too. You're able to withstand more recoil damage from Take Down, aren't you?"

The small steel-type pokemon chattered happily at its trainer, immediately flying over to cuddle up into his chest, eager to receive its well-earned praise.

Steven laughed, giving it a generous pat on the head. "I know! At this rate we can probably head out sooner than expected!"

Roxanne watched the duo with a peaceful smile on her face. She spoke again, letting out a sigh. "You two only trained for a month and you think you're ready to take on all the gyms in Hoenn?"

When Steven froze up, along with Beldum, the brunette burst out in a fit of giggles.

"I'm kidding! I think you're more than ready. Just keep training like this with Beldum and you'll -" she stopped herself abruptly when she noticed a look of uncertainty flash in Steven's pale blue eyes. "...What's wrong?" she asked, her voice dropping to a concerned whisper, still loud enough to be heard over the gentle waves of the ocean nearby.

Steven avoided her gaze as she approached him, signalling the end of the training for today.

"...Is it your father?" she asked cautiously when she came up to him.

"No, no…" Steven muttered, holding Beldum close to him. He lowered his eyes in a somber manner. "...I haven't told him yet."

"Steven…"

" - I will," he answered, raising his head and following it up with a wide grin of reassurance. "Don't worry. I will, but it's not that."

Roxanne watched him slowly take a seat on the soft sand, averting his gaze to the broad horizon ahead. She took a seat next to him quietly, allowing him to take his time speaking.

Through their budding friendship, Roxanne began to realize just how this introverted boy worked. He spoke softly most of the time, only saying what needed to be said in the gentle tenor his low voice had. He also took his time speaking, occasionally pausing and looking off to the side during their conversations as if he was carefully choosing what words to say and how to say them.

This was especially true with a subject sensitive to him.

Steven eventually drew in a deep breath through his nose as a cool ocean breeze swept over them.

"...I don't think I'll be challenging the Hoenn League," he finally responded.

Roxanne threw him a puzzled look. "...What?" she breathed out. "Then, why are you spending all this time training with Beldum?"

He shook his head. "I still need to train with you, even if I don't challenge the league."

"I'm afraid I don't follow," she replied, narrowing her eyes at him quizzically.

Steven looked down at Beldum, who chimed in reassurance, prompting the teen to raise his head to meet Roxanne's eyes. "It's always been our goal to travel the world, so that's what we're going to do. I still need to know how to protect myself out there, whether it be against wild pokemon or other trainers, so that's why I'm training with you and still attending Mason's classes."

Roxanne relaxed her mouth, but still kept her brows knitted together. "You're training a lot for someone who's just going to be traveling though."

He chuckled, occasionally laughing wryly as he spoke a few words. "Actually…Beldum and I had a really bad encounter with a trainer a long time ago. It was before Beldum even became my partner. I convinced it to follow me outside the cave it was living in and that's when the trainer approached us. Beldum got hurt really badly and I did too. I don't ever want something like that to happen again."

She could sense the uncomfortable nature of the topic and decided not to prod at it any further. "I see…" Roxanne glanced over at him and made eye contact with Beldum, who was nestled against Steven's chest. She cracked a warm smile and leaned over to pat the steel-type pokemon on its head. "...Well, that's a shame."

"Huh?"

The brunette pouted a little and replied, "I was hoping to battle you someday in an official match. Once I become the gym leader of Rustboro, you're going to have to beat me for the stone badge." She rested her head against a propped up arm, peeking at him in a very obvious manner.

Steven quickly caught on and snickered. "Nice try. You're not going to convince me like that."

"Not even a little?"

"Nope."

Roxanne giggled as she rested her chin on her knees. "I thought not. You're pretty stubborn when you've made your decision on something." She smiled as she looked out at the gentle waves, languidly watching Nosepass curiously dig around here and there along the shoreline for rocks and minerals.

Beldum joined it not long after, happily floating alongside it, helping it search for rocks.

"So…" Roxanne mumbled, her voice suddenly taking on a tone of shy hesitation. "Does that mean you're not going to come watch the gym matches? Since you don't have an interest in pokemon battles…"

Steven tilted his head slightly as her. "What do you mean? I still enjoy watching pokemon battles."

"O -Oh," she continued to mumble. "I wasn't sure because...I'm actually...planning to challenge Mason soon. Y -You know, for the gym leader title. Maybe by next week -"

"- I'll be there."

Roxanne's eyes went wide as she snapped her head towards him. A warm, blooming blush erupted on her face when she saw him grinning, flashing the tips of his pearly white teeth at her. "...Wha -? How'd you -?"

" - Mason told me," Steven laughed. "He said you were going to challenge him soon and that you would really like it if I came to watch."

The young girl blushed harder and hoped that Steven would not notice if she buried half her face into her arms. Roxanne peeked at him again through the corner of her eye. A big mistake on her part since she saw him flash that earnest, toothy smile he occasionally did when he was genuinely happy. It always sent her poor heart racing, along with the kind words he would tell her.

"Are you nervous?" he asked, causing her to flinch when he moved in close to look at her face.

She stammered, unable to get a proper word out. "H - Huh?"

"For the battle." Steven broke out into an innocent smile again, completely oblivious to her true feelings. "You'll do great. Don't worry! You're one of the strongest trainers I know! Ah - well -" He sheepishly laughed, then rambled. "I suppose I don't know that many trainers anyways, but -"

She failed to stifle down a giggle, causing Steven to blush in exchange. "You know plenty of trainers, dummy. What about all the people at the gym?"

"No I don't," he stubbornly retorted, blushing harder when she continued laughing. "I don't really talk to them anyways…"

Roxanne smiled. "You should. Some of them are jerks, like Jean." She stifled a chortle when she saw Steven stick out his tongue slightly at the mention of the arrogant boy. Her smile then faded slightly, half-heartedly trying to keep the corners of her mouth from falling. "But, not all of them are bad. They may be mean to me, but a lot of them seem to be attracted to you. You may be quiet, but you have a welcoming aura around you. You can make a ton of friends if you really want to, Steven."

Steven frowned slightly, despite the obvious compliment, and leaned back against his arms. "Yeah, but that's why I don't want to talk to them. I don't care if they like me."

The brunette wrinkled her brow in question at Steven's words.

"You said they don't like you. Why should I try to befriend people who don't respect my friends?"

Her heart hammered away in her chest at the unexpected, candid answer Steven gave her. Roxanne turned her head away from him, opting to look out at the gentle ocean waves that crawled up the beach before them. A breeze flowed, sending the salty seawater up into the air in a lofty mist towards them. It was just a gentle sprinkling, but Roxanne quickly rubbed her eyes, only to realize that her eyes were already wet with a stream of tears.

Steven heard her sniffling softly beside him and he glanced at her, smiling, aware of the reason for her tears. "So...if you win, can I officially say that I have the Rustboro gym leader as a friend?"

Roxanne hid her face from him and cracked a sobbing laugh, finding his quip ridiculous, but went along with it. "I was hoping I could say something similar about you later if you ever became the Hoenn League champion."

All Steven did was chuckle.

"So you really aren't going to challenge the league?"

He shook his head. "I think exploring the world sounds more interesting than that. You sound more eager to have me challenge the Hoenn League. Why don't you try it?"

"I'm perfectly fine being a gym leader and becoming a teacher at the school here," she responded curtly, eliciting a laugh from him at how quick and straight-forward her answer was.

Eventually, she broke into a fit of giggles as well, openly displaying the mirth of her smile and the freely flowing tears that streamed down her round cheeks to Steven, knowing that she could do so without fear of judgement from him.

* * *

The sound of frantic scribbling, coupled with the torrent of pages being turned once in a while filled Steven's expansive bedroom. He sat at his desk, with only the small lamp in the corner turned on, pouring over the books he had open.

Beldum quietly watched its trainer, resting on the stack of various business related textbooks. Its eye shot open wide when Steven let out an excited cheer.

"I found it!" he exclaimed proudly, dropping the ink pen he was holding onto the notebook filled with his various notes relating to astronomy. Steven let out an exhausted sigh as he leaned back against the plush leather chair before his mouth opened into a wide grin. "The next meteor shower! The one that I want to see."

Beldum peered over curiously and saw the words 'Jirachi' and 'comet' along with the words 'Meteor Falls' and several other locations scribbled underneath it, followed by a date. It looked to Steven, who was laughing elatedly.

His face lit up as he spoke to Beldum. "It's called a Millennium Comet! It only comes for a few days every thousand years! The next time it'll come is in 10 years!" Steven's smile dropped immediately and he cupped his chin. "...That sounds like a really long time to wait actually." He quickly went back to smiling regardless and pat Beldum on its head. "Well, good thing you can live way longer than other pokemon, Beldum. Let's go see it together!"

The small pokemon chimed happily.

"I've read that the legendary pokemon, Jirachi, could appear too on any of the nights during the comet's appearance. What if we see it?" Steven's eyes widened in pure wonder. "I heard it can grant wishes too!"

Beldum's eye lit up just like its trainer's, showing an equal amount of excitement.

"What would you wish for, Beldum? I wish...you could fly. Then we could go anywhere we want!"

Beldum grunted angrily, narrowing its red eye at him as it swiftly darted around his room, displaying its expertise in flying.

Steven laughed. "But you're too small to take me too! Maybe when you evolve into a metagross." His light blue eyes went up to the ceiling in thought and then back down at Beldum. "Never mind...I just can't imagine you getting that big," he said with a light chuckle. Steven's eyebrows went up slightly as he stared at the small pokemon. "What? You want to get that big?"

Beldum hurriedly bobbed up and down, showing its eagerness with the prospect.

"It would be cool," Steven contemplated, cupping his chin. His head danced with images of him flying on top of a floating metagross like what he saw in the books he read. "But," he continued, smiling warmly at the small beldum, "I'm in no rush. If you got that big, I can't hug you like this!"

The young boy took Beldum into his arms, initially feeling the weight of the heavy steel pokemon, but very quickly being relieved of it when Beldum activated its magnetism. He laughed, tickled as Beldum nuzzled itself into his chest.

Beldum chimed happily, relishing the soft vibrations against its body from its trainer's laugh deep within his chest. However, along with the sounds of his laugh came a low rumbling sound from deep within Steven's stomach.

"Oh," Steven broke into a sheepish chuckle. "I thought I ate enough for dinner. Want to sneak down to the kitchen with me? A midnight snack sounds good, right?" he asked Beldum, who responded with an eager chatter.

The two made their way quietly from Steven's bedroom and down the dimly lit halls. They went to the back of the kitchen instead of the main entrance, hoping to not run into the chef, who Steven assumed had turned in for the day. He was sure to receive an earful from them for adapting such a "horrid" late night eating habit if he were to be caught.

He slowly twisted the doorknob and cracked the door open just a bit to peek inside.

"Okay, Beldum...looks like the coast is clear -"

" - Steven."

The chef's familiar, but sharp voice caused the boy to freeze in place. He slowly opened the door, revealing his sheepish smile with Beldum floating alongside him timidly.

"H - Hello Caesar. I didn't expect you to be up so late."

The middle-aged man sighed tiredly, setting down the cutlery knife he was using to chop a few vegetables for the week's meals. He said nothing as he walked over to one of the far counters and grabbed two plates that sat on top of it.

Steven stood there, perplexed, until he saw the chef bade him over to the counter where he was chopping the vegetables. His eyes went to the two dishes set out on it and then up to the chef's face.

"I know you two have been sneaking down here for a midnight snack every night," Caesar answered, smirking when he saw Steven blush slightly. "Good thing I was prepared tonight." He gave a cheeky wink at the teen and motioned with his hand once more to beckon the two over.

Steven took a seat at the counter and practically salivated at the combination of stir fried noodles and freshly prepared chowder that was set before him. He looked over at Beldum's dish and saw a bowl full of diced sitrus berries mixed with a colorful jelly. The small pokemon dug in ravenously without a second thought as Steven picked up his spoon and started devouring his own meal.

The chef sighed exhaustively as he watched the two. "You're a growing boy, Steven. You can ask for more when I prepare your dinner. That way you don't have to do these midnight food runs."

He waited until he swallowed all the food in his mouth before speaking. "I know," he replied, grinning childishly, "but you already give me so much."

"Apparently not enough," Caesar commented dryly, poking at the boy's thin arm before going back to his prep work. "I'll have to increase your portions starting tomorrow. That way you don't come down here in the middle of the night and eat up the food for the next day. But you know, you wouldn't be hungry if you just ate everything I gave you for dinner tonight. That includes the carrots."

Steven laughed with a stuffed mouth. He mumbled out an incoherent apology, followed with an excited chatter from Beldum, who had finished eating its meal.

Caesar sighed again at the two, shaking his head as he continued chopping. "...So," he began, changing the subject, "do you want to tell me what you're doing up so late? Were you trying to greet your father?"

"My...father?" Steven asked, eyebrows raised slightly in confusion.

Briefly pausing his task to look up at the teen, Caesar asked again cautiously. "Yes, your father. You…don't know he came back home today from his business trip in Kanto?"

Steven swallowed the food he had in his mouth and fell silent. He simply continued to eat, only to receive a scolding from the chef, nearly causing him to choke on his food.

"Hey! I know you heard me!" Caesar shouted, tossing a raw piece of carrot into Steven's soup, to which the teen immediately grimaced. "Either eat that or answer me. What's going on with you and your father?"

Pursing his lips tightly as he purposely pushed the carrot off to the side of his bowl, Steven answered. "Nothing -"

"- Don't give me that, Steven." The chef menacingly pointed his kitchen knife at the boy, who froze up at the sharp tool. "I've been serving meals in this house ever since you were in diapers. I know when something is wrong."

Steven let out a deep sigh as the chef pulled the knife away from him. He idly stirred at his soup and eventually muttered, "Dad probably hates me. I said something horrible to him a while ago. I don't think he wants to see me...ever."

"I suppose even you aren't immune to teen angst."

It took a while before Steven responded with a disgruntled frown. "I'm not being overdramatic about this, Caesar."

The man snorted, parting his thin lips open slightly at the corner to smirk. "You really think your father wants nothing to do with you - ever?"

Steven continued to play with the spoon in his hand. "I just think...if he hasn't bothered to try and talk to me, he doesn't want to see me." He shrunk in his seat when he heard Caesar scoff again. "A - Am I wrong? I said some horrible stuff to him," he asked indignantly, starting to feel ashamed with himself, but his pride still unrelenting.

Caesar narrowed his eyes at the young man and answered, "then that requires an even bigger apology. Keep in mind Steven, your father may be a busy man, but he always did his best to show you his love. His best may not be good enough for you, but it is his best."

The teen fell silent.

"As his son, you could at least try to tell him that he means a lot to you too. You can't expect him to try his best when you aren't doing the same."

Steven continued to stay silent, offering up no such retort as he quickly shovelled the last of the food into his mouth. His shoulders trembled as he ate, but Caesar pretended to not notice, knowing that the young man preferred to keep his emotions to himself. He caught him wiping at his eyes with the sleeve of his sweater before raising his face.

"Thank you!" Steven exclaimed, boldly displaying the slight redness on his nose and pink color in the whites of his watery eyes. He kept his bottom lip from trembling by biting down on it. Seeing this, Caesar blew out another scoff, but let his mouth widen into a warm smile this time.

"Go. Your father is probably still awake upstairs in his study. I sent him a late meal not too long ago."

Steven nodded, hurriedly leaving the kitchen with Beldum following closely behind. Nervously, Steven found himself reciting the various, different ways he could possibly say the simple words "I'm sorry" in his head as he walked towards his father's study. The mere thought gave him anxiety, with his hands clamming up and heart thumping heavily against his chest, but he knew it had to be done. His father deserved that much.

However, as soon as Steven finished climbing the stairs, he quickly hid behind the corner when he saw his father exit his bedroom. He peeked out cautiously, hoping that his father had not heard or seen him. Much to his relief, he saw that his father did not react to his presence and went further down the hall towards his study.

Instead of chasing or calling out for him, Steven remained quiet at the head of the stairs until he heard the soft click of the door. He then came out from his hiding spot and curiously went to his room, wondering why his father was in there in the first place.

His question was quickly answered when Steven saw a lone rock, that was not there before, set upon his desk. He went towards it, his mouth slightly dropping open when he saw exactly what it was upon closer inspection.

"Beldum," Steven whispered, running his fingers over the grooves and smooth textures of the rock in his hand.

Beldum floated over his shoulder, taking a look at the almost pristine fossil sample.

"...Caesar was right, wasn't he? Dad tries his best for me."

Steven felt a horrible guilt stabbing at his chest the longer he stared at the beautifully preserved helix fossil in his hand. There was no doubt that his father got this during his business trip in Kanto and from the quality of the fossil, it was either very expensive, rare, or both.

Holding the fossil in his hand, Steven turned to look around his bedroom, which was decorated with various stones in glass cases and see-through cabinets. Although some stones were of his own finding, most of the stones were from his father when he went away on his business trips to the other regions. Every time, without fail, he brought a present back for Steven.

Every time.

Even now, when Steven was under the assumption that his father disliked him.

He felt like a fool for it.

Steven set down the fossil onto his desk, making sure to treat it delicately. Without a word, he stared at the regional maps, the star charts, and the notes he wrote down in his notebook, all scattered across his desk. These were the glorious adventures he was planning to go on with Beldum, but all of a sudden, Steven felt no excitement from looking at them.

They all suddenly looked like fruitless plans drawn up by a child choosing to run away his responsibilities.

Beldum noticed the sudden change in its trainer's mood towards the one thing that brought him great joy. It chimed softly, worriedly.

Snapping out of his trance, Steven blinked and turned to face the small steel pokemon. He mustered up a smile and pat the top of its head. "Hey, don't worry about me, Beldum. Let's go to sleep, okay? And how about tomorrow, we go visit dad at the office? I think I just need to talk to him," he said with a faltering laugh, vainly trying to reassure himself.

The small pokemon quietly stared at Steven, as if telepathically communicating with him.

"...I know," the young man muttered. His voice cracked under the strain of having to speak so quietly. He flattened his lips together tightly to keep control of his emotions that threatened to burst out. "I...really wanted to go on our adventure too, but I feel like I don't have a choice now. ...I don't want to let dad down."

* * *

**A/N** GASP. Got 50 unique visitors for the previous chapter! Thank you to those that read this regularly! Honestly was a little bummed in the earlier chapters for the lack of reviews per chapter, but kept my chin up and I understand not everyone leaves a review even if they enjoy a fic. Even I don't review some fics either even though I have them bookmarked in my browser haha. So I just measure it by unique visitors now. You guys are coming back to each update because this story's interesting...right...? :D

Anyways, sorry for the rather long gap between this and last chapter. Aside from computer problems, I started another multi-chaptered fic in another fandom and I wasn't feeling very good about my writing.

**Review responses: **

**Wolflyn** \- Oh nononono! I hope I didn't come off as aggressive in my previous A/N either! Was 100000% not trying to attack your review and I always really enjoy the insightful reviews you leave. I was really just clearing up my own train of thought too and offering up a general explanation separate to what you mentioned earlier. I'm honestly really happy to see someone else enjoying the Roxanne bits too haha. I really didn't care too much for her character in the canon, but seeing she had a canonical friendship with Steven, I ended up adding her into the story. She was honestly supposed to only be in 1 - 2 chapters, but I ended up building her character in all my excitement xD

**Allthingsconsidered99 -** Thank you so much! HONESTLY SPEAKING, I actually have a goal to make my readers cry during this fic. This fic isn't necessarily "sad," but I hope to give you all the feels, so to hear you nearly cried so far, I feel accomplished heh C:


	11. What It Takes

**A/N** Thank you for the reviews last chapter! Hopefully this chapter will be an enjoyable one as well :)

**Meteor**

**Chapter 11 - What It Takes**

* * *

"Hey, look!"

"Isn't that the current Hoenn champion? I remember him on TV last month!"

"He looks so cool, right Mom? He's like a pirate!"

Drake was never one for the perks of popularity that came with the title of being champion, but he took it all with stride, confidently walking through the streets of Rustboro and occasionally acknowledging the children that stared at him with awe with a humble wave. He did not choose to stay and linger however, for he was in the city for an important matter.

The ends of his long black coat fluttered behind him with each heavy, but swift step of his leather boots. When he finally made it to his desired destination, he stopped and took the time to lean back to look at the massive corporate building before him. The bright morning sun helped illuminate the true brilliance of the steel and glass architecture.

"Looks like you're still doing well for yourself, old friend," Drake chuckled, wearing a subtle, but broad smile across face as he walked through the doors to Devon.

* * *

A trip down to this father's office was nothing out of the ordinary for Steven. He had done it multiple times before, so he inwardly cursed at himself for feeling so anxious about now.

It was certainly not because he was changing his clothes in the middle of a public park, hiding himself away behind a couple of trees. The privacy did practically nothing for him because he was simply adding a simple black necktie to his outfit in order to look more presentable for a corporate setting. However, Steven felt the need to isolate himself from people for a bit, just to collect himself and his racing thoughts.

A frustrated sigh escaped him for the fifth time as he messed up on his stubborn necktie. He freed the messy knot and tried it again, his slender fingers shaking just ever so slightly as he looped and knotted the silky tie around his neck. When he finally managed to get it right, he quickly folded the collar of his shirt down over it. As he reached for the sweater vest that he discarded on top of his school bag, he stopped when he noticed Beldum, who was floating beside his bag, quietly gave him what appeared to be a stoic look.

However, Steven knew it was anything, but stoic. He mustered up the best smile he could and simply reached out to pat the pokemon on top of its head, saying not a single word. All he needed to do was quell its worries, along with his own.

"Alright," he breathed out as he finished folding up the sweater vest neatly into his bag. "Let's get going then. I'll see you in a bit, Beldum."

He recalled the small pokemon back into its ball and tried to fasten it to his belt, only to have his trembling hands fumble it. Beldum's minimized pokeball fell to the grass below and as Steven reached out to grab it once more, he stopped.

His hands shook ever so slightly.

Steven let out a wry chuckle in an attempt to calm himself by making light of the situation. He held both of his hands tightly together, waiting patiently until they stopped.

"I've got to try my best too. For Dad," he whispered to himself, picking up Beldum's pokeball once more and successfully fastening it to his belt.

He moved, picking himself up. The walk to Devon was slow, as Steven subconsciously tried to prolong it. He took his time reciting what he would say to his father once they were face to face. Should he say his apology first? Would his father even accept it? What if he refused it? That would mean the end of the conversation, right?

Steven drew out a slow breath as he finally made it to the entrance of the massive corporate building. He stared up at its ominously large architecture, accentuated with the burning glow from the setting sun.

His father was always understanding and patient with him. This time, however, he not only disobeyed his father's wishes, but he spoke back to him, firing off words that Steven thought were far too harsh when he thought back to them.

_"...Don't pretend like you care all of a sudden."_

It was a month since he had said those last words to his father and Steven lowered his head, ashamed. They still stung his conscious like a cascoon's spike.

In order to ease his mind, he reached into his bag and pulled out a cushioned pouch. Inside, he could feel the weight of the helix fossil his father had left him the night before. Steven quickly shook his head, ridding himself of the negative thoughts. He took the fossil as his father's display of love and the young man reassured himself that things will turn out well.

When Steven stepped inside the lobby of Devon, he was immediately given a warm reception by the woman sitting at the front desk.

"Hello, Steven! Haven't seen you around for a while. Are you here for your father?"

"Yes," he responded, giving her a reserved smile.

"He's in a meeting right now, but I'll call him to let him know you're here. How about you wait in his office? He shouldn't be too long!"

Steven nodded, thanking the woman kindly before leaving for the elevators. He inserted his keycard once inside and pushed the button for the top-most floor. The elevator hummed to life smoothly as it began its travel upward.

He exhaled carefully through his parted lips as he caught himself reflected in the door.

Even in the ironed dress shirt, pressed tie, and well-fitted slacks, Steven felt like he looked out of place and he became even more aware of it when he saw his reflection frowning back at him. He quickly tore his eyes away, shaking his head as he recollected himself.

When the elevator arrived at the top, the doors opened and Steven stepped out. The entire hallway was vacant since there were only a handful of people in the world that could get access to it. Here, there were only two rooms, a private conference room and his father's office.

His legs suddenly ached, feeling sorely heavy. Steven clutched at the small pouch containing the fossil in an attempt to calm down. He convinced himself that it was just his nerves getting to him and the overwhelming feeling of dread would soon pass.

Steven tapped his keycard onto the small reader next to the doors leading to the office. The reader beeped, flashing a green light before the doors clicked open. The young man pushed one of the double redwood doors open, allowing him to step into the clean and beautifully simplistic room.

Steven always admired his father's interior design choice when it came to his office, their house, and Devon itself. Everything was well put together, clean, nothing out of place. The brown and tan colored furnishings were plain on their own, but when put alongside the various geodes and fossils that sat inside glass display cases, the furniture gained some more warmth for their earthy tones.

The curious boy wandered the office, staring at some of the rocks that sat within the glass cases, to the abstract paintings of various ancient pokemon that adorned the otherwise plain cream colored walls. He eventually made it to the large hardwood desk where his father mainly sat and worked. The desk was immaculately clean as well, not a single item collecting dust or stray documents scattered about. There were a few agenda items scribbled on his father's desk calendar, mostly meetings and a whole two weeks leading up to the day before highlighted in red ink with the words 'Kanto business trip (Silph).'

Steven's eyes moved to the framed picture that stood right above the desktop calendar. It was in the center of the desk so that it was directly in the line of vision of whoever sat in the chair. Steven set the fossil he had in his hand and moved to take the framed picture into his hands, smiling delicately as he did so.

It was a photo of all three of them, him, his father, and his mother. They were standing on the beach where Steven usually spent his time nowadays training with Roxanne and Beldum. All three of them wore the biggest grins on their faces, clearly enjoying the day out together as a family. Steven could notice how frail his mother's body looked in the photo even with the flowy, full length bright yellow sundress she wore.

_"How about we go look for rocks, Steven? We can find some new ones you can add to your collection," his mother asked, smiling warmly down at him._

_The small boy's face immediately lit up as he nodded bashfully, so much so that his mother urged him to calm down, warning him that his neck could snap. He then took his mother's hand and practically dragged her towards the ocean, eager to play with her._

_"Slow down, Steven! The rocks won't go anywhere!" his mother said with an amused laugh._

_"But, you will Mommy," he replied with childish innocence, "you're never outside! You're going back inside...to the hospital."_

_She widened her eyes slightly at his unexpected answer. However, she soon broke into a joyful laugh. "That's right, so how about we go find all the rocks we can today before Mommy has to go back inside?"_

_"Okay!" Steven replied, grinning widely._

It was a fond memory, only one of the few that he could remember of his mother. Steven could only remember a few minor details, but he could easily recollect how happy he was that day.

Gently, he set the photo back down and decided to take a seat on one of the sofas in the room while he waited for his father. As he walked away from his father's desk, his arm brushed past a stack of papers sitting on the corner. They fluttered to the floor, scattering, before Steven knelt down to collect them. He read a few, all of it pertaining to what looked like the contents from his father's Kanto business trip.

As he collected the last piece of paper, he heard the door to the office click open. In his position, he was well hidden, so he remained still behind the desk, especially upon hearing his father's voice as well as another man's.

"I'm sorry for how long that conference call went on for," Joseph said as he allowed his guest into the office first. "I will try to secure the funding needed to help the league with the issue regarding Team Aqua and Team Magma in Hoenn. Rest assured, Drake."

Steven heard the other man, who he assumed was Drake, speak to his father with an air of lofty friendliness.

"It's alright, old friend," he chuckled as he removed his captain's hat. He held it tucked underneath his arm as he took a look around the office. "I see that you're still collecting these interesting trinkets," he commented in an attempt to change the subject.

"Drake...are you sure it's okay? I feel as though I need to try harder to do my part to ensure Hoenn's safety. As president of the largest corporation in this region, I -"

"- You're doing the best you can, Joseph. Don't worry too much about the funding. Team Magma and Aqua are still fairly new crime syndicate groups here in Hoenn. I still need time to conduct an investigation as to what their motives are. They've only been partaking in a few minor crimes here and there." Drake paused, turning his head back to face his friend to give him an encouraging grin. "Really. I feel as if I should apologize for coming to you on such short notice asking for money of all things!" He broke out into a hearty laugh.

Joseph sighed deeply as he took a seat on the sofa.

Drake immediately picked up on it and continued walking idly around the office, unknowingly approaching Steven's hiding spot.

"You seem to be troubled with something else, Joseph," the veteran sailor said as he stood just a few feet away from the desk, examining one of the geode samples in a glass case. "Even throughout the meeting with Silph earlier, you seemed distracted."

Steven heard his father let out an unsteady, wry laugh.

"Was it that obvious?" Joseph leaned forward so that his arms were resting on his knees. He let his eyes fall so that they rested on the coffee table in front of him.

"Anything you wish to discuss?"

Steven held his breath when he heard Drake's footsteps fall just inches away from where he was.

A distressed sigh escaped from his father. "...It's Steven."

"That boy of yours?"

"I don't know what I need to do with him...as his father I feel like I'm failing him."

Drake stepped forward, idly examining the extensive bookshelf behind Joseph's desk. It was then that he noticed someone on the floor, sitting just beside his foot. The middle-aged man froze, making no noise or gesture of surprise other than a slight widening of his eyes upon meeting Steven's.

Steven, just as shocked and unsure of what to do, simply stared up at the intimidating man. He expected him to alert his presence to his father, only for him to do the exact opposite.

He carefully returned his attention back to the bookstore, pretending to examine it and acting as if he did not see the teen. "What do you mean?" Drake asked casually. He cast a discreet glance to Steven sitting on the floor. "I haven't met your son since he was just a small lad, but he never struck me as the type to disappoint you from the stories you tell me about him."

Joseph smiled, pained. "Perhaps...that's partly why I'm in this situation with him. He was always eager to please people. Never really defiant and always quietly doing what he was told. In a way, it was as if he didn't want to make me angry."

"That's quite different from other teenage boys," Drake chuckled as he pulled out a maritime book to scan through its pages. "A lot of them are rambunctious enough to challenge me to a pokemon battle when I'm out in public and argue when I refuse. I could only imagine how they would behave at home if they treat me so haughtily."

Joseph laughed through his nose. "They might just be eager to challenge the champion. After all, you've held the position for almost eight years. Kids will be kids, in the end."

Drake shook his head, grinning. "I can see where your son gets his gentle disposition from. Always the understanding one, Joseph."

"Not enough to understand my son though," he responded, a hint of sullen disappointment in his voice. "I always tried my hardest with him, making sure that he never felt as if he was missing the love from his mother. I've tried to spend as much time as I could with him, but these past few years with Devon expanding so rapidly, I have so little time to devote to him. I'm barely home to eat a single meal with him!"

"Aren't you being too hard on yourself?" Drake asked, putting the maritime book back on the shelf and turning to face his friend. He saw him with his face in his hands, clearly distressed.

"No…" Joseph muttered, "I deserved every single word Steven said to me when he lashed out. He was right. I really didn't care for him. If I did care, then I wouldn't have put my own selfish needs before his. I knew...from the very start, when he was young, that he wanted to become a pokemon trainer, to travel the world."

Steven clenched his fists, suddenly feeling a spike of resentment towards his father for revealing the truth. He knew all this time and he said nothing.

Joseph's confession continued with a slow, steady tone. "I saw the disappointment on his face when I told him he was going to start attending business school instead of the trainer's school. I still sent him. I knew he detested the board meetings at Devon, but I still made him sit through each one."

"Surely you know by now that your son has no interest in the corporate world."

Joseph paused briefly. "...I know."

At the confession, Steven nearly shot up from his hiding spot, simmering with anger, only to stop himself when he heard his father's next words.

"But our time together here at Devon were my futile attempts to build a connection with him again. I knew he disliked it...but I still cherished each moment together. I felt close with my son again, for the first time in so long. But...it was wrong of me to neglect Steven's happiness for my own. That's why I deserve his anger right now." Joseph clenched his fists over his knees as he looked up to face Drake with a pained, tight-lipped smile. "Aren't I a fool? For believing that this would be the solution to fixing my relationship with my son?"

"It might not be the right approach, but I understand why you did it. He's your son. You wanted to spend time with him in the best way you can."

Joseph gave a short, mirthless chuckle. "Which is why my actions were even more detestable. ...Steven knows it. It's probably why he refuses to talk to me anymore."

Drake could see a spark of remorse on Steven's face as he sat there. He took one last glance at the teenager, astutely picking up on his mood, and walked over to Joseph. "Are you angry with your son? He lashed out at you after all," he asked, getting straight to the point and addressing the question that Steven wanted answered.

He waited with bated breath for his father's reply.

"...No," Joseph replied, giving a heartfelt, broken smile. "How could I be? Steven has every right to say what's on his mind, even if it's towards his own father. I would never be angry over that."

Steven parted his mouth, his lips slightly trembling, as he leaned back against the desk.

"But...rather than anger, I feel - "

Steven could hear him pause for a moment, as if he was trying to figure out the best word to describe his feelings.

" - Heartache. Yes...that's it. I suppose as a parent, the worst thing is when you begin to realize at some point your child doesn't need you anymore. They start getting annoyed when you ask them how their day was, they stop asking you to check for any dusclops underneath their beds," Joseph responded with a fond, befallen chuckle. "We raise our children so that they will be able to take care of themselves when we're gone. So we want them to eventually go down a path we can no longer follow them on, but there's just... a small part of me...that just wanted to walk with Steven. _Just_ for a little bit longer."

Drake commented, with a warm smile. "Just because he's growing up doesn't mean that you cannot support him. Your son would want such a caring father like yourself by his side."

"Would he?" Joseph asked with a reluctant smile. "I fear that I've pushed Steven away for good this time."

The veteran sailor laughed. "We all make mistakes, especially as parents. You should give him more credit than that, old friend. He's your son after all." He glanced very briefly back at the desk. "He's more forgiving than you think. Come, how about we go get some dinner? My treat."

Loosening up his smile at Drake's attempt to lighten the mood, Joseph got up with a soft exhale. "To what do I owe the honor of being treated by the Hoenn League champion?" he quipped back.

Drake gave a hearty laugh as he placed his captain's hat back on his head. "Please, Joseph. I'm not the one with dozens of bodyguards. You're more important than I am."

Before the two men left the office, Drake gave one last look over to Joseph's desk. With a confident smile, he shouted rather loudly, "I would love to meet your son, Joseph. Perhaps...after dinner, we could meet him at the beach!"

Steven widened his eyes, knowing that the bold exclamation from the champion was for him.

Joseph wrinkled his nose in confusion, clueless as to what was going on. "You don't need to start shouting, Drake. I'm right here?"

"Nothing, old friend. Nothing," Drake laughed, shutting the door behind them, finally leaving Steven alone in the office once more.

The deep silence continued for a few more minutes before it was interrupted by the dull thump of Steven's head rolling back and hitting the desk behind him.

He remained motionless, blankly staring up at the ceiling as the minutes ticked away. Steven finally got up and placed the papers that had fallen, back on the desk where they belonged. It was then that he relinquished a heavy breath, heaving his entire body forward as he leaned on the desk with both hands for support.

He brought a hand up to run through his hair. After a few brushes, he stopped, holding his hand loosely as fist over his eye. His shoulders began to shake and his face contorted into that of conflicted misery. A dull headache began to form at the front of his temple and Steven slumped his entire weight onto his propped up arm.

He had absolutely no idea what to do next.

* * *

Beldum knew something was not right with Steven.

It floated just above the shallow ocean waves, quietly watching its trainer on the faintly illuminated beach as he flipped through the pages of his journal. His half-lidded eyes lingering just a few seconds longer than his usual reading speed.

Beldum hovered over to him, its head coming close with the journal that Steven held. With a soft chime, it looked up at the teen, concerned. It shrunk inwardly when it was met with an unresponsive silence. This was different. Beldum had never seen Steven so despondent, so distant, so devoid of emotion.

As Beldum moved to nudge his wrist, its lone red eye widened in shock as Steven began tearing out the pages from his journal. Beldum squeaked incessantly as Steven crumpled it up. These were notes that he took about all the regions and the places they were planning to go to. Hours and hours of careful planning and excited talks with Beldum were now being ruthlessly thrown away.

The teen ignored his pokemon and continued, tearing and crumpling more pages of the journal until he got to the very last page with writing on it.

Beldum, in a last ditch effort to capture Steven's attention, cried out sharply.

It appeared to work. He stopped, resting his fingers on the top of the page.

"...Beldum," Steven muttered faintly, grabbing the full attention of his pokemon. "Do you want to leave?"

It answered honestly, bobbing its entire body up and down.

"Then...you should go."

Beldum froze up.

Steven smiled, but it was vacant and grim. He returned his attention back to the journal, back to the page he was just about to tear out. "Oh…" he whispered, laughing absentmindedly as he noticed the pile of crumpled papers next to him on the sand, "I can tape these back in for you. You should take this journal as a guide."

The small pokemon let out a distressed cry as it urgently nudged its trainer on the shoulder, strongly protesting what he was suggesting.

"Beldum, stop," Steven chuckled, his voice breaking towards the end. "You should go. See the world just like we planned. Don't worry about me. I...should stay here...for Dad." He turned away from Beldum, who's red eye widened immensely from the horror of what its trainer was saying.

It began to wonder if it was just misunderstanding him. There was a small chance that it simply did not understand human speech and its cadences as well as it thought it did. Yes, that was it -

Steven kept his head turned away, unable to bring himself to face the distressed pokemon. "...I'll be fine, Beldum. ...Just...promise me you'll come back once in a while to tell me about the things you saw and the places you went to. Okay? Heh, it would be kinda cool if you came back one day as metagross. You've always wanted to get stronger, right?"

It heard enough.

Beldum grunted angrily and rammed itself into Steven's arm, not with all its strength, but enough so that it caused the young man to fall over in pain.

"Beldum!" he shouted, holding his injured arm tenderly. He was sure that it was going to leave a sizable bruise for a couple of days. "What are you doing? That really hurt!"

It chattered angrily again, flying menacingly close to Steven's face, trying its best to convince him that he was being irrational.

"I...I don't know what you're trying to say," Steven mumbled, averting his eyes away from Beldum's.

Before the small steel-type pokemon continued its tirade, it stopped when it sensed another human's presence getting closer to them. It quickly turned its body in the direction of the approaching human and flew protectively in front of Steven, who still lay on the sand, confused with what was going on.

"You can stand down, Beldum. I'm not here to hurt you or your trainer," the gritty, familiar voice said, following it up with a deep chuckle.

Steven immediately recognized the voice to be Drake's and found himself correct when the older man got close enough to be seen more visible in the darkness.

The veteran sailor smiled broadly underneath his scruffy mustache as he stood a few feet away from the young teen. "So, you accepted my invite. I wasn't sure if you were going to show up."

Steven frowned. He felt as if he was being talked down to, so he quickly picked himself up off the sand to meet him at eye level. "I come to the beach regardless," he answered curtly. "It's where I like to relax."

Drake laughed heartily, amused by Steven's response. "I suppose you have a lot to think about considering that you're currently trying to convince your very own pokemon to go on an adventure without you. When I heard that, I wasn't sure if my ears were working right!"

The way the rugged sailor laughed after saying that, caused Steven's cheeks to flare a bright red. "You think it's ridiculous?" he asked with hostility. "I think it's a perfectly reasonable request!"

"Do you really believe that?"

Steven drew back, feeling himself shrink under Drake's questioning. He quickly wished to withdraw his previous statement, realizing how foolish it sounded. "I - uhm -" he faltered pathetically.

Drake narrowed his eyes dangerously, suddenly changing the mood of his conversation. "Do you intend to continue living the rest of your life like this, boy? With no convictions towards your goals? Wavering on every decision you make just because things get difficult? I did not realize that your father raised such a spineless cur."

Steven's mouth dropped open. He trembled at the brutally honest way this man spoke to him. Unable to retort or form any sort of logical response, Steven simply resorted to letting his anger take over. "Excuse me?" he breathed out while forming a deathly glare.

Drake sneered. "I invited you out here because I wanted to see what type of man your father has raised, but it seems like I may have wasted my time on an immature boy. You haven't learned a single thing from overhearing your father earlier this evening."

His hands formed tight fists as he continued to listen to this stranger of a man berate him. "You don't know anything about me!" Steven fired back angrily. "I don't care if you're a friend of my father's or the champion of Hoenn! You have no right to judge me like this!"

"Oh?" The middle-aged sailor chuckled sardonically. "So this is the temper you used to lash out towards your father. You have quite the sharp tongue. If only you used it to be more articulate and be more honest. Tell me, do you think it is honorable to send your pokemon out on its own without any guidance from you?"

Steven widened his eyes, frowning as he silently stared at Drake.

"If that's the case, then you lack respect for your pokemon."

"I...I respect Beldum more than anyone else!"

Drake smirked once more. "That's quite troublesome to hear. If this is how much you respect your pokemon, then I can see why your own father feels like you pushed him out of your life. Do you truly believe that you're doing the best for both Beldum and your father by pushing them away when it's clear they want to be by your side?"

"I -" Steven cut himself off when he saw Drake drawing out a pokeball. Warily, he kept his eyes on the ball as he answered. "...I'm choosing to stay here in Rustboro for my father. What's wrong with that? If my father wants me by his side, then he will. Isn't that what he wants?"

The rugged sailor chuckled, the short laugh rumbling deep within his throat. "Like I said, you learned nothing from listening to your father earlier." He pushed the button to bring his pokeball to its full size. "You know it doesn't matter whether or not you're there physically."

Steven drew back, forming a tight-lipped frown as he felt his hands grow clammy.

Drake noticed this and his smirk deepened. "Nothing, hm? Very well, if you're unwilling to admit that you're acting foolishly, then how about we deal with this right now with a pokemon battle? Your father informed me that you've been training with Beldum quite a lot behind his back. Let's see if you truly do respect your pokemon as much as you said!"

"I refuse…!" Steven exclaimed defensively. "Why should I waste my time battling you -?"

"- If I win," Drake replied, completely ignoring Steven's words. "How about you give Beldum to me?"

As if he had uttered an incantation, Steven froze completely in place. He wore a look of shock and incredulity as he stared at the Hoenn champion release his pokemon.

with a brilliant flash of light, a salamence appeared at Drake's side. The proud dragon-type pokemon roared confidently as the champion stroked the top of its head. Drake focused his attention back on the petrified teen and he smiled. "So? Didn't you say it yourself? Beldum should go see the world without you. You'd only be holding it down, am I correct? If Beldum were to come with me, I think it's a winning situation for all of us."

Beldum flinched slightly when it saw Drake looking its way now.

"How about it, little fellow? I do not wish to take you against your will, but it does sound like your trainer was perfectly content abandoning you."

Beldum glanced at Steven and saw him averting his gaze. Despite the despondent way its trainer reacted, it let out a sharp growl, refusing the champion's offer.

"I can assure you," Drake continued, "if you were to become my pokemon, we can travel the world and...I can make you stronger."

At this, Beldum stopped briefly, finding itself swaying slightly at the proposal.

"You want to become a metagross, don't you? You've spent all this time with Steven and yet, you haven't even made any progress towards evolving into a metang."

Beldum could suddenly remember the loss it suffered at the gym against the geodude, the constant stalemates or losses with Roxanne's nosepass, and how Steven stated straightforwardly last night that he did not want Beldum to evolve any time soon.

_"Let's make a promise, okay Beldum? We'll become strong so that we can protect each other and other people and pokemon who may need our help."_

It started to sound like a hollow promise to the small steel pokemon. A subtle lie. Beldum quietly raised its eye just a bit to look at Steven, who wore a look of complete defeat and guilt. What happened to his desire? Why was he so adamant to train at the gym and learn pokemon battling when he was not going to challenge the league? This was not the same boy that Beldum agreed to become partners with.

Not anymore.

Steven's mouth parted when he saw Beldum float past him, headed straight for Drake. His eyes widened and his face contorting into that of terrible disbelief with what was about to unravel before him. "Bel...dum," he whispered, his voice shaking as he feared the worst. "...Wait -!"

Drake smiled in content, completely relaxed as if he expected this outcome. "So, is this your choice, Beldum?"

"Beldum…?" The teen stared at the back of Beldum's figure, unmoving as he saw Drake's salamence fly over to take its position in front of its trainer. Steven, quickly realizing what was going to happen, fumbled to grab Beldum's pokeball. He had to recall it. There was no way they were going to win against the Hoenn champion, much less his ace.

However, before he could order his pokemon back into its pokeball, Beldum flung itself forward at a ferocious speed towards the menacing dragon pokemon.

Even without a command from him, Drake's salamence slashed the steel-type pokemon away, sending it flying past Steven and into the sand a few feet behind him. It all happened in what seemed like a split second and Steven simply stood there, wide eyed in shock over what had just happened.

"Your pokemon has more resolve than you, boy," Drake started with a composed chuckle. "It respects you a great deal, as expected of course."

Steven turned back, his shock escalating when he saw that Beldum was once again upright, hovering just barely above the sands, but surviving the strong blow from the salamence. It had a fierce look in its red eye as it stared directly at its opponent, not a single ounce of fear in its gaze.

"But, I'm here to see if you carry the same amount of respect towards it! Battle me, Steven Stone!" Drake declared loudly as he pointed a finger at the teen, who turned back around to face him. "Let's see if you have what it takes to be a pokemon trainer!"

* * *

**A/N **Sorry! Had to cut it off there otherwise this chapter would have been over 10k. I hope you guys will like the next chapter, which will conclude this arc and start Steven on his journey :)

**Review responses**

**Shikisai-san** \- Sorry that I couldn't get to it this chapter, but I can assure you the talk between Steven and his dad is coming up in the next chapter! :D Thank you for your review!

**Allthingsconsidered99** \- Thank you so much! I'm glad you thought that way for that scene last chapter! I really try to put a lot of emotion into my writing haha. Hope you stay safe as well!

**TheOrdinaryCes **\- Hello! Thank you so much for the review!


	12. Embrace

**A/N **Another music recommendation from me - "One Day" by THE ROOTLESS. Had it on repeat while writing some parts of this chapter, especially the last scene ...Yes, it's another One Piece opening song. Don't come at me.

Also, I planned for this fic to be 10 chapters at most when I started writing chapter 1. That is the biggest joke I've ever told hah. Hello 50k word count mark!

**Meteor**

**Chapter 12 - Embrace**

* * *

Steven felt himself growing numb with dread the longer he watched the battle between Beldum and Salamence unfold before him. Each painful recoil Beldum endured was like another nail into his chest and Steven knew he had to stop it, but he found himself withdrawing mentally. What was he supposed to do against the champion of Hoenn? Beldum was going to be taken away from him if he lost this battle.

_'I can't do it,' _he thought.

A pit of hopelessness deepened inside of him and he remained quiet, unable to issue a single command to his pokemon. He wanted to concede defeat to Drake, to tell him that he was free to take Beldum on the journeys that he had promised and at the same time make it strong enough to evolve. It was for the best. Steven glumly dropped his head and opened his mouth to wave his white flag, but found that he could only squeeze out a silent breath. The words failed to come to him.

A wind, stronger than the last one, tousled the teen's messy silvery hair. Drake noticed this wind as well and glanced at the ocean nearby, taking note of the changing tides.

A storm was approaching.

Beldum shot forward towards the intimidating salamence at a blurring speed. However, it was not fast enough to land a solid hit on the salamence. The small steel-type pokemon crashed into the sand once more, but it picked itself up quickly and led another ruthless charge at its opponent again.

Drake chuckled, a wide grin displaying his visible enjoyment. "Quite the tenacious one, aren't you Beldum?" he said aloud. Behind his confident grin however, Drake quietly hid the fact that he was impressed, astonished even, at Beldum's behavior.

As a long time member of the Hoenn League and being well traveled around the world, he had witnessed his fair share of pokemon disobeying their trainer's orders. The visible embarrassment and frustration that the trainer displayed alongside their pokemon's own unwillingness and complete lack of respect was an unfortunate sight to behold. At that point, Drake called for the match to be over, knowing that such an embarrassing display in public would surely crush any young trainer's spirit.

However, this was different. Beldum was not disobeying Steven. It was helping him.

"Salamence!" Drake called out, "use Dragon Breath!"

A powerful blast of energy erupted from the dragon's mouth, barely scathing Beldum and shooting into the sand just a few feet in front of Steven. The attack sent a cloud of smoke and sand into the surrounding air, causing the teen to instinctively shield his eyes from the debris with his arm.

"You had better pay attention, boy!"

Steven appeared to snap out of his horrified trance, but still did not utter a single command to Beldum.

'He really hasn't said a single word to Beldum and yet it's attacking Salamence all on its own. It isn't just random attacks either…' Drake thought to himself as he narrowed his eyes at the small pokemon. To the untrained eye, it would appear that Beldum was simply just trying to land a random strike on Salamence, but Drake noticed it immediately. It was purposely trying to hit it at all angles, hoping to find a point of weakness on the dragon-type pokemon. "Clever," Drake chuckled under his breath.

Steven resorted to clenching his fists tightly by his side as he was focused on Beldum, continuing its seemingly futile attempts at attacking Salamence - alone. "Beldum…" he finally whispered his pokemon's name, pained, watching as the small pokemon struggled to get up after another powerful blow from the Salamence's claws.

He saw Beldum picking itself up from the sand, enduring another powerful blow from Salamence. It was then he noticed the crumpled pieces of paper he had ripped out from his journal, scattered and fluttering all around Beldum. Some of the delicate pages began getting caught against the rising tide that crawled up the beach. All Steven did was watch them be carried out by the waves, passively, until he widened his eyes in shock upon seeing what Beldum was doing.

It managed to pick itself up and instead of focusing on the battle, it chattered softly as it wasted no time in trying to rescue some of the pages from the waves. The pages were soaked, probably even unreadable at this point, but Beldum diligently grabbed each torn page with its metallic claw. Steven could see how its small body quivered from the damage it took during its battle with Salamence, but Beldum kept collecting, relentlessly fighting the waves to gather the pages.

As it flew around trying to grasp at the last page floating in the water, a rather rough wave knocked it back onto shore. Still, it tried to pick itself up and float out again, despite the obvious weakness it showed by floating so close to the ground.

The scene struck a chord deep within Steven and he bit down on his bottom lip, forcing himself to hold back the tears that threatened to spill out. Beldum was clearly far too injured and exhausted to collect the pages that were useless and damaged, but it still tried.

Again and again, it tried before crashing onto the sand right before the water's edge.

Steven finally drew in a deep breath, feeling the tightness in his chest grow unbearable upon seeing Beldum's sacrifice.

Drake was the first to notice. "Hey!" he exclaimed, attempting to stop the young man as he removed his shoes to run towards the water. "Steven! Don't go in there! The surf is dangerous right now!"

Hearing the champion's voice, Beldum tiredly turned itself to look back, only to catch its trainer running past it and straight into the dark waters. It let out an alarmed cry at the sight.

Ignoring both Drake and Beldum pleas for him to return, Steven waded through the shallow waters before the steep decline on the ocean floor forced him to start swimming. He knew how unrelenting the waves could get as he briefly remembered how he had to be rescued by Roxanne a while back, but he still fought the waves and swam out to where he saw the journal page.

Beldum squeaked worriedly as it watched Steven swim out. He was not too far out, but he was deep enough to where he could easily drown. In addition, the ocean was dark, with the only source of light illuminating the beach were the bright city lights from Rustboro, and the waves proved to be rather unforgivably random tonight. Beldum wanted to fly out to him, but the fatigue riddling its body prevented it from doing so.

As Steven got a hold of the last page, a violent wave crashed into him, sending the young man underneath the surface and out of sight.

Drake widened his eyes in panic at the dangerous scene. He knew the dangers of the sea firsthand. "Salamence! Go retrieve him," he quickly commanded the dragon-type pokemon. However, before Salamence could dart out towards the ocean, Steven breached the water's surface with a loud gasp, holding the page high above his head.

"...Beldum!" he shouted towards the shore. His voice went hoarse from the passionate intensity behind it, as his head and arm bobbed above the water triumphantly.

Everyone froze, from Drake, to Salamence, and especially Beldum.

Despite the hot tears that streamed down his face, Steven wore a wide, confident smile on his face. He yelled out to Beldum again with a voice that had once again found its weight.

"Meteor Falls, Beldum!" he cried out, his voice cracking from how loudly he shouted. "That's where we need to go! We're going together! You and me!"

Beldum's red eye quivered as it watched Steven make his way back to shore, the waves thankfully providing a much needed lull.

He coughed violently and caught his breath in heaving gasps as he crawled up onto the sand. It sounded as if he was in pain, but he managed a smile at his beloved pokemon, reassuring it, as it darted over to his side. Beldum to let out what sounded like a whimpering cry. Being a mechanical pokemon, Beldum lacked the ability to produce tears, but Steven knew it was capable of feeling sadness just like anyone else.

Steven reached out to pat the small pokemon on its head. "Thank you, Beldum," he said softly, "for not giving up, even when I did." He paused, dropping his gaze briefly. He then stared back at Beldum with a hardened gaze. A newfound fire sparked in his eyes as he asked the small pokemon, "can you still fight?"

Inspired by its trainer's boosted morale, Beldum nodded vigorously, a surge of adrenaline making it forget about the pain that had once fatigued its body.

His smile deepened. "Got it," he replied, doing his best to stand up.

Drake watched the teen stand up on his own and the champion let his concerned expression return back to his usual assertive demeanor. He chuckled, delightfully impressed at the immediate change he saw in Steven's eyes. There was a fire within them, despite how disheveled the teen's appearance was compared to earlier. "Are you finally ready to face me, boy?"

"I am."

The fire persisted, fueling the conviction behind the voice that had once lost its confidence. That was all Drake needed to hear.

Much to Steven and Beldum's surprise, the champion pulled out Salamence's pokeball and recalled it back into its safe confines. He noticed the two's visible confusion immediately and simply let out a throaty laugh. "Did you really want to continue to fight me in the state you're both in?"

Steven, flustered, blurted out, "well, y - yeah! I mean, you're the one that challenged _me_! I thought you wanted to battle us!"

Drake laughed again, especially upon seeing Beldum agree with its trainer with a sharp grunt. "I'm afraid you're a few years too early to be challenging me. Surely you must have known that you'd lose."

Steven frowned. "Yeah, but -!"

"- So how about we continue this battle later? For the champion's seat?" Drake smiled, a softer smile this time around.

He was speechless initially at the bold proposal. "The..._champion's seat_?" he managed to say.

"Your father told me you've been frequenting the Rustboro gym. You clearly have some sort of desire to battle competitively. Am I wrong?" Drake waited and all he received was silence from the young man, but that alone was an answer in itself. Satisfied, he smiled and turned to leave. "It was nice to meet you, Steven."

"Wait!"

Drake stopped to turn his head slightly towards him.

"Salamence...it has an injury on its left wing, doesn't it? A recent one too since it looks like it's not used to it being there."

A mixture of intrigue and surprise flashed in Drake's eyes as he turned his whole body to look at Steven again. His lips turned into a smirk. "Despite your detached behavior earlier, you were paying attention to the battle, eh? I'm impressed. I noticed something odd with how Beldum was attacking Salamence earlier. It was just trying to figure out its weak points, was it?"

Steven cheekily reflected Drake's smirk back at him.

"...Did you stop me just to prove a point?"

"I did."

Drake could not help, but laugh again, this time at Steven's candid response. "I knew you were a fine trainer, Steven. You will truly be a formidable opponent in the future. I'll be looking forward to battling you for the championship!"

"You seem so sure that I'll be challenging the league."

"You've shown me no reason to doubt it, boy," Drake replied, flashing the teen a warm smile rather than his usual smirk. He turned his back to him. "Go. Don't let anything ever lead you astray from your path again."

Steven watched as the Hoenn champion walked away. He stood rooted to the spot with Beldum, thoughtfully taking Drake's words to heart. It was not until another strong wind swept over him that Steven realized he was still in his wet clothes and he immediately hugged himself.

"W - We should probably head home," Steven shuddered, his teeth chattering together.

Beldum squeaked upon realizing how cold its trainer appeared and darted over to help gather his belongings. It flew back over to Steven with his school bag in its claw and the two noticed the damp journal pages lingering on the sand. Steven reached down to collect them, but his hand stopped midway.

"Beldum…?" he started, causing his pokemon to hum in question.

Steven let a delicate smile grace his sharp features and stood up straight, facing Beldum with his shoulders rolled back and chest raised.

"We already know where we need to go. Don't we?"

Beldum, offering up no objection to its trainer, quietly floated by Steven's side as they both watched the rising tide climb up the beach. They backed away a safe distance away from the water's edge, leaving behind the journal pages they had worked hard on. The storm fueled waves eventually dragged each one out to sea and the two watched until the very last page disappeared from view.

They left the beach behind soon after, moving forward with their heads held high.

* * *

The storm, while brief, displayed its full terror over the south east region of Hoenn for the next few days. It cancelled all public events in Rustboro, including the much awaited gym battle between Mason and Roxanne. However, as soon as the storm passed, the activities within the bustling city resumed as normal.

A bright ray of sun bathed the rain soaked region and the air felt crisp, clean after the storm's rain helped clear up the ashy scent that occasionally builds up from the nearby volcano, Mount Chimney, and the smog from the city.

Roxanne stood behind the gym, along with Nosepass, taking in the beautiful weather. It was a good day, boosting her morale for the challenging battle she was about to enter. There was nothing, but confidence in her rust colored eyes and a self-assured smile as she continued to relax quietly with Nosepass.

She could hear the idle chatter and conversations of the spectators that slowly filed into the gym on the other side of the massive building. They all sounded excited and rightfully so.

It had been a while since the last time Mason was challenged by a trainer and this time it was no ordinary trainer.

"I think...her name was Roxanne? She's one of the top students at the trainer's school and Mason's star pupil! I was wondering when she would finally challenge him!"

She smiled upon hearing the overly excited spectator as they passed by the area she was resting.

"Looks like we have a lot of people to impress, right Nosepass?"

The angular pokemon turned to her and vibrated its body in response.

Roxanne giggled at the small action and her hands gently went to her waist, where her other two pokemon lay resting safely in their pokeballs. "This might be the most important battle we have ever done together so far, so let's all try our best!" Her smile deepened upon feeling her geodude and onyx both practically quivering in anticipation inside their pokeballs.

"Roxanne," one of the gym's trainers came out from the nearby back entrances. "It's time to start."

"Of course. Be right there," the brunette answered. She stood up, glancing back around her as if she was waiting on someone. Her gaze slightly fell, but she maintained her confident poise. "I guess he'll show up later. Steven has the tendency to run late sometimes, huh?" she asked Nosepass as it came up to her side. Roxanne smiled as she took out Nosepass' pokeball. "Let's do this, girl."

Upon walking into the gym, Roxanne could already hear the excited crowd that had gathered in the arena to spectate the battle. She took in a deep breath and exhaled softly before walking out in a confident stride.

The well-lit arena was filled. Roxanne had honestly never seen it packed with this many people, but her initial astonishment did not last very long as she found herself scanning the crowds for a specific boy with wispy silvery teal hair. Her expression fell slightly upon seeing no one that fit the description.

"Not even a hoodie or sunglasses, Steven?" she muttered softly to herself as her eyes saw no one of her interest sitting in the usual seat where she used to see him.

Still, Roxanne held out hope that Steven would show up eventually. There was even a spot for him reserved on the side bench, where the rest of the gym's students and trainers sat. It was there that her eyes briefly locked with Jean's and she saw him roll his, following it up by an immediate chortle amongst his group of friends. She swallowed hard, sharply looking away and doing her best to ignore him.

"Welcome to the Rustboro Gym! Today's match will be a challenge for the gym leader title between current gym leader, Mason and his challenger, Roxanne from our very own trainer's school here in Rustboro!"

The crowd cheered as Roxanne took this as a cue to take her spot at the other end of the arena. As she walked over to the challenger's box, she passed by Jean.

"Don't choke," he sneered, "just like your buddy did against me."

She pressed her lips tightly together, trying to hide the fact that the mere statement sent her blood racing. Normally Jean's words were easy to ignore or brush off, but this time it nearly caused her to lose her cool. Not only did he insult Steven, but the fact that the latter was also not present started weighing heavily on her mind.

As Roxanne stepped into the challenger's box, she drew out another smooth breath, shaking off those intrusive thoughts. "He promised," she whispered inaudibly, hoping to calm herself down. "He'll be here. Don't worry."

At the other end of the arena, Roxanne saw Mason, who had just walked into the gym leader's box. He smiled when he met her eyes, and the teacher and student walked forward until they met in the middle of the arena to share a handshake before the battle.

"I'm looking forward to the challenge, my star pupil," Mason warmly greeted, his handshake firm. "I hope you can take away my title today."

"I will," Roxanne responded, mustering up her confidence once more.

"That's what I like to hear," Mason chuckled. "Let's show everyone a fun match. Good luck."

She nodded. "You as well, Teacher."

The two separated and walked back to their spots at opposite ends of the arena.

"This will be a 3-on-3 match!" the announcer's voice boomed. "First one to knock out all three of the opponent's pokemon will win!"

Roxanne saw Mason pull out a pokeball and she followed suit, choosing to send out her geodude first. Her demeanor continued to remain calm, despite Jean's words earlier.

"Ready?"

She pushed the center button on her geodude's pokeball to let it expand to its normal size. Her eyes narrowed in determination as she readied herself to send her pokemon out onto the field.

"...Begin!"

* * *

"Your bodyguards are quite trusting of me, aren't they? Are you sure it's okay to leave them at Devon?"

Joseph chuckled as he lifted a cup of coffee to his lips. "I'm sure it's because I'm out with the champion. They trust that you can protect me if the need arises," he responded as he heard his friend laugh in response. "Besides, I'm more worried about you. Won't you be noticed, Drake? You're one of Hoenn's superstars."

"Why else do you think I asked the waiter to give us this seat?" Drake asked, pointing up at the large table umbrella and the hedges that kept their table secluded in the outdoor seating area of the cafe. "I think I'm well hidden away from any fans."

"I suppose so," Joseph said lightly, setting his paper cup back down on the table. He briefly lowered his head, a very apparent smile on his round face.

The veteran sailor immediately took notice. "It looks like something good happened to you, old friend. Care to let me in on it?" he casually asked, forming an idea of what it could be. "Did you meet a nice lady recently?" he joked.

Joseph laughed. "Of course. She visits my dreams frequently. Beautiful as usual. Always letting me know how she's doing and telling me that she's in no rush to see me."

Drake laughed along, knowing who the devoted man was talking about as he watched him twist the silver band around his left ring finger.

The two men heard the clamouring crowds that had gathered in front of the gym across the street from the cafe and briefly looked over, before resuming their conversation.

"Actually…" Joseph started, his smile deepening as he turned his back towards the gym. He relaxed his shoulders a bit before leaning back against the chair he was sitting in. "It's my son."

"Oh?" Drake said, feigning surprise as he gently lifted his cup of hot tea to his mouth. "Steven, was it?"

"Yes. We actually...well I suppose I should say, he actually spoke to me. It was just a simple goodnight, on that day I talked to you in my office." He blinked and then sheepishly laughed. "It sounds a bit ridiculous now that I said it out loud, but -"

"- But it made you happy, didn't it?" Drake smiled upon seeing his friend's features soften once more.

"...It did," Joseph admitted with a heartfelt smile. "It feels like it's been so long since I've heard his voice, much less hearing him speaking to me."

There was a pause in the conversation and Drake found his attention diverted back to the crowd that was slowly filing into the Rustboro gym. He assumed there was a battle scheduled for today and judging by the size of the crowd, it was an important one.

"Thank you by the way."

He looked back at Joseph, who pulled out a purple pouch from his coat pocket. "Hm? What for, old friend?"

From the pouch, Joseph let a small fossil roll out onto his palm. He looked down at it and smiled delicately. "Steven...he was in the office that day, wasn't he? Did you speak with him that night?"

For a brief moment, Drake looked stunned, but he quickly relaxed into a grin. "Nothing gets past you, does it? Briney and I always agreed that you were the smartest one in our group. Seems like that still holds true."

"You two always flattered me too much," he laughed. "Well...this time it wasn't too hard to figure out what happened. After our dinner that night, I returned to the office and my secretary asked if I had met up with Steven. Apparently he had dropped by earlier, but I never saw him. Then I see that he left this on my desk." Joseph lifted up the almost nearly perfectly preserved helix fossil. "I also thought you were acting a bit odd before we left the office."

Drake sighed, following it up with a deep chuckle. "And then let me guess, you ran into your son that night at home, clothes soaked and shivering. Is that how you know I spoke with him?"

Joseph laughed as he remembered how he walked into their home and saw his son about to climb the stairs, while leaving behind a trail of puddles all across the entrance hall. The adorably surprised expression his son had at the time was priceless to the father. "The storm hadn't arrived here in Rustboro yet. The only place he could've gotten wet was at the beach. And who was it that asked to meet my son at the beach?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as he smiled knowingly.

The other man conceded. "It was I," he said as he lightheartedly shook his head. "But it's nothing to thank me for, Joseph. I simply helped him understand, but it was ultimately because of your words."

"Yes, but still...thank you, old friend," he responded with a warm smile.

Drake snorted lightly at the endearing nickname for Joseph being used towards him. "I only wish to see my friend at his best. Your son, Steven, he indeed cares deeply about you too...and your opinion on him."

"I see. Just as I thought," Joseph chuckled wryly. "...Do you think I'm holding him back?" he asked after a long pause.

"Are you?"

"...I'm...not sure. I want him to pursue his dreams, to live his life, but I don't want him to regret the time he spends. A life of adventure is fun, I'm sure both of us know that better than anyone else here."

Drake laughed softly, closing his eyes briefly as if to reminisce on a particular memory. "Indeed."

"But it was dangerous and unpredictable. That's honestly why I decided to follow in my father's footsteps and take over Devon. It's why I decided to settle down with Kaya and have Steven." Joseph's gaze fell slightly before apprehensively looking at his friend. "Wasn't your incident at sea also why you decided to stop adventuring?"

With a soft exhale through his nose, Drake gave a soft, melancholic smile. "That is somewhat true. I know that after that incident, Briney stopped sailing out completely. I actually stopped by his house before I arrived in Rustboro. That poor fool spends all his time fishing nowadays. He did buy a small boat recently, but he hasn't sailed out on it yet." Drake blew out a sharp breath, as if he was fed up with Briney's indecision. "I know he desires to be out on the water again. He didn't buy a boat without a reason."

Joseph could only manage a bittersweet smile. It was nice to see just how much Drake still cared about Briney, despite his coarse delivery.

"But...that's him. As for myself, even though we were at Death's door that day, I wouldn't have become a pokemon trainer if that dragonite hadn't saved my life. Even though a chapter of my life ended, a new one started." Drake saw Joseph turning his head away slightly in contemplation. "Can't you say the same for yourself? Our experiences in life shape who we become as a person."

As if the universe knew that Drake was about to bring him up, the veteran sailor spotted Steven running across the street. He appeared to be in a rush as he ran towards the gym, nearly running into the automatic doors that barely opened just in time for the impatient teen.

"So," Drake resumed, "why don't you let Steven experience life? He may end up regretting certain things, but adventure is what he wants right now. I can assure you that much."

Joseph's face softened into an understanding smile. "...Does he plan to leave soon?"

"I can't say exactly when, but yes. Steven will probably want to challenge the Hoenn League soon too."

He raised an eyebrow at the champion. "You didn't egg him on, did you?"

Drake chuckled lowly as he stood up from his seat. "Perhaps a little bit, but your son...he already has a fire in his eyes. It took a bit to light it up, but it's there. It's a fire that I rarely see in trainers. I can't say it's a passion, but rather…" He trailed off, trying to find a way to best describe Steven's drive. As he paused to look over at the Rustboro gym, a smile of realization worked its way onto his rugged face. "Why don't I just show you what I mean, old friend?"

Joseph shot him a confused look, but went along with it. "Where are you taking me now?" he asked, standing up to join his friend.

"You'll see."

* * *

Roxanne felt her heart racing in her chest, hammering away so violently that she found herself growing distracted as each second wore on.

"Onyx is unable to battle!"

The young girl recalled her fainted onyx back into its pokeball, quickly whispering a word of thanks to the giant rock-type pokemon. Now it was down to her ace, her trusty partner, Nosepass.

"Let's win this, Nosepass!" she exclaimed as she tossed out her final pokeball.

Her eyes narrowed fiercely at Mason's ace pokemon, Lairon. She knew it was a powerhouse and one of his strongest pokemon. It definitely lived up to the title, for it easily knocked out both her geodude and onyx. The situation looked grim. While she, in turn, easily dealt with his other two pokemon, she could feel the pressure of the match coming down to the wire.

"Metal Claw, Lairon!" Mason commanded.

"Nosepass, use Harden! Endure the attack!"

Roxanne knew that her pokemon could endure a few hits, especially since she had been training with Steven and Beldum, but she had to think fast.

"Use Sandstorm, Nosepass!"

The compass pokemon caused the entire arena to vibrate, using its power over magnetism to lift the grainy sand and create a vicious sandstorm. The sand swirled around the battlefield, decreasing visibility for the two combatants.

"Oh, an impressive move from Nosepass! But will this be enough to even the playing field?" the announcer excitedly shouted.

Roxanne smirked. Nosepass was more than capable of seeking out her opponents even in low visibility. She did not need to rely on its eyes, like Lairon did. It was an added bonus that Lairon was part steel. "Just like we practiced Nosepass! Rock Throw!"

The magnets in its body directly locked on to Lairon's presence and Nosepass shot forth a sizable boulder from the arena towards the seemingly helpless steel pokemon.

Mason countered with a defensive move of his own, knowing that Lairon had no chance of dodging the incoming attack. "Lairon, quick! Use Iron Defense!"

Roxanne grit her teeth upon seeing the Rock Throw attack rendered practically useless against the steel-type's incredible defense. Still, she did not let this set her back. "Nosepass! Position yourself so that you can do a Rock Slide!"

In an incredible display of speed for a nosepass, the compass pokemon drilled itself deep under the ground, disappearing from the battlefield. The crowd let out a noise of intrigue, some verbally expressing their astonishment with an exclamation of support for Roxanne and Nosepass.

"Lairon!" Mason shouted over the slowly weakening sandstorm. "Stand your ground! Don't lose your concentration!" He smiled at Roxanne, displaying his collected nature even under pressure.

The sandstorm died down around the arena, the sands no longer affected by Nosepass' magnetic force. With a clearer visibility, Mason noticed how Lairon was standing near one of the larger boulders in the arena. Remembering Roxanne's command from earlier, he quickly acted.

"Lairon! Get away from there -!"

Before he could finish his sentence, Nosepass had drilled itself back up to the surface, wedging itself right next to Lairon and the large boulder. It slammed itself against the huge rock formation and coupled with its powerful magnetic force, shattered the boulder into chunks and allowed for it to rain down on the helpless lairon.

The entire arena grew silent, in awe at the strategy Roxanne used and in anticipation for the outcome of the attack. A plume of dust and debris obscured everyone's vision of Lairon's fate.

As the clouds of dust began to clear, Roxanne let out a sigh of relief seeing her nosepass safely off to the side. At least she did not suffer any damage from the rocks.

"Lairon, Headbutt!"

" - What?" Roxanne breathed out just as she saw the armored pokemon shoot out from the smoke cloud and ram itself directly into the unsuspecting nosepass.

"Amazing!" the announcer cheered as the crowd followed. "Lairon managed to recover quickly from such a devastating attack! What quick thinking from Gym Leader Mason!"

Roxanne let her mouth drop open in shock upon seeing Nosepass lying on the ground motionless. She was sure that Lairon would not be able to recover so quickly. It was Nosepass' strongest move. That was supposed to be her finishing blow.

Her head swam, desperately trying to formulate any strategy. What did she learn? How could she counter Lairon? She was already at a type disadvantage from the start, how could she possibly win? Was Nosepass okay?

She tried not to let her discomfort show, but she suddenly found the arena lights hot and blinding. The cheers from the crowd suddenly sounded deafening and disorienting. Her vision blurred and she bowed her head, squeezing her eyes shut as she tried to think of what to do next.

Despite the noise from the crowd, she could somehow clearly hear the mockery of Jean's words from the sidelines.

"Oh well, I guess it's over."

She did not dare look up to face him. It was far too embarrassing.

"Little Miss Star Pupil didn't even stand a chance from the beginning. Did she really think she could -?"

" - Roxanne! You can do it!"

Her eyes snapped open at the familiar voice. She raised her head and turned to look, her face immediately melting into a tight-lipped smile as she fought to hold back her tears. "Steven," she whispered, overjoyed upon seeing his face on the sidelines.

He stood beside the other gym trainers and students, red in the face and sweating as if he had run over in a hurry. Despite his disheveled appearance, he was like a beacon of light for her as he wore a proud grin on his face. He cupped his hands around his mouth and puffed out his chest.

"Don't you give up now! You've trained so hard with me! I know you're a powerful trainer!"

Despite the clamouring from the crowds, Roxanne still heard him loud and clear. She let out an exhaling chuckle as she quickly wiped at her eyes with the back of her blouse's sleeve.

"You're the strongest one I know, so don't give up! Keep going!" Steven continued to shout, drowning out Jean's voice and receiving a few eye rolls in response from the other boy. They went completely unnoticed to Steven however, for he kept his eyes straight forward only on Roxanne.

Roxanne smiled deeply as she shook her head. This was the loudest she had ever heard the usually soft spoken boy. "Idiot...I got it. Quit shouting," she muttered to herself. Regaining her confidence, Roxanne stood up a little straighter and took in a deep breath. "Nosepass!" she called out to her pokemon. "I know you have one more fight left in you, girl! I believe in you!"

The compass pokemon slowly picked itself up once more. Her angular body was definitely nicked and bruised, but she stood facing Lairon, standing tall and proud just like her trainer.

"What a turn of events! It looks like Nosepass still has some fight left in her! It looks like there's still a chance for Roxanne to sweep away Mason's title!"

The crowd cheered loudly for Roxanne and Nosepass after the announcer finished, chanting their names in unison as a show of support. The intensity in the arena was at its peak.

Roxanne closed her eyes, just for a moment as she readied herself to deliver the final command to her pokemon. Her eyes shot open. "Rock Tomb, Nosepass!"

"Lairon, let's finish it with a Take Down! Give it your all!"

The two pokemon simultaneously delivered their attacks, creating a thunderous sound from the impact. As quick as the attacks were delivered, so was the outcome of the grand match.

"Nosepass is unable to battle! Lairon and Mason win, keeping his title as gym leader of Rustboro! What an exciting match from Mason and Roxanne!"

A roar of the crowd followed, jubilant with excitement.

Despite the unfavorable outcome, Roxanne felt no shame in the loss. She held her head high as she ran over to her unconscious pokemon. "You fought well, Nosepass," she whispered, smiling gently, as she patted it on the head. "We'll get them next time, for sure. Rest up for now." She recalled Nosepass back into its pokeball just as Mason approached her.

"Well fought, Roxanne," he said with a weighted voice, holding out a hand for her to take. She stood up with his help and the two shared a mutual handshake. "You definitely gave me a run for my money. Lairon wouldn't have lasted another round," he chuckled, commending her efforts. "I still believe you're the only one close enough to take away the gym leader title from me. You'll do it, won't you?"

She smiled broadly, her usual confidence beaming brighter than usual. "I will."

He returned her smile with a broader one. "That's what I like to hear. I'll look forward to your next challenge."

The two let go of each other's hand and listened to the crowd give their final cheer as the day's match officially concluded.

Roxanne released the tension in her shoulders with a quiet sigh as she made her way towards the sidelines. She was pleasurably surprised to see that Jean and his friends had already left. Because of her loss, she had thought that they would stick around to hurl words of mockery towards her, but she did not complain. Instead of them, she was met with her friend's beaming smile.

The change was perfectly acceptable to her.

"Steven, I lost and you're smiling," she stated, giggling when he started to blush.

"O - Only because you are!" he retorted. "I wanted you to win!"

"_And_...you were late."

When all Steven did was stammer and deliver flustered incoherent remarks, Roxanne burst into full on laughter.

"I'm sorry, I'll stop," she gasped in between giggles, causing him to blush even harder. It was far too fun to tease him. Her laughter slowly died down and she held a warm smile on her face as she gave him a look of sincerity. "Thank you for coming today, Steven. I...honestly don't know what would have happened if you weren't here."

He frowned a little, despite the favorable words. "I think you would've done fine regardless."

Roxanne shook her head, laughing dryly. "No...I nearly lost it while I was up there. I couldn't think straight when I saw Nosepass knocked out like that and then I let Jean's words get to me even when they usually don't. I wouldn't have been a good gym leader even if I did win the title from Mason today. Gym leaders don't lose their cool in the middle of a battle."

"But in the end, you're the one that got Nosepass to stand up again. I could have shouted at you all I wanted, but you were the one that chose to listen. I think you did just fine, Roxanne."

She concealed an elated smile behind tightly pursed lips upon hearing and seeing his heartfelt emotions. "I - I'll just have to grow into the title, I guess."

Steven chuckled. "That sounds better. I'm looking forward to it. I don't want to battle anyone else for the stone badge."

Roxanne blinked. "What…? The stone badge -?" Her eyes promptly widened as he pulled out a white rectangular case from his satchel. The gold insignia of the Hoenn league embellished on top of the case caught the arena's lights brilliantly as her mouth slowly formed a wide grin. "Steven," she breathed out, elated as she looked back up at his face.

He smiled sheepishly as he held the official badge case for the Hoenn league. "I don't think it's fair to want a gym leader as a friend when I'm not willing to make the same effort." Steven laughed upon seeing her overjoyed grin. "You seem happier about this than I am."

"Of course, dummy! How cool would it be to say that the champion of Hoenn is my friend?" Roxanne laughed, overjoyed by Steven's decision to challenge the league. "So then...your dreams of adventuring -?"

"Who says I can't do both at the same time?" Steven smiled as he looked down at the badge case in his hands. His voice dropped to a gentle whisper. "I'll still be chasing after meteors and rare stones, but I realized I wanted to make a name for myself. People only knew me as my father's son, heir to Devon, but how can I carve out my own path? I was too scared to move forward and my indecision caused the people around me to suffer too. Well -" Steven chuckled sheepishly, realizing that he ended up rambling. "That's just what I think anyways."

Roxanne beamed upon seeing the way her friend's face lit up. His handsome features were noticeably softer compared to the past few days. Although she was delighted to hear he was going to set off on his adventure soon, a small part of her felt a bit nostalgic, already feeling the slight pain of missing him. "I'll look forward to your battle here then, Steven," she responded, managing a smile out of the bittersweet feeling rising in her throat. She held out her hand, hoping to part with him with at least a handshake. "I'll make sure to become Rustboro's gym leader by -!"

She found herself interrupted when she was pulled into an embrace by Steven. Her face unceremoniously found itself buried in his shoulder as he held her close. The rhythm of her heart flew into a bouncy vivace as she opened her mouth to retort, only to quickly snap it shut. With a defeated huff and a blushing mess, she simply hugged him back, quietly relishing the physical contact with a boy she admired.

"You know it's rude to decline a handshake," she eventually mumbled.

Steven laughed. "I know. Trust me, all I do is shake hands when I'm at Devon, but I think that's too formal for a friend." He paused, smiling as he closed his eyes for a brief moment. "...I'll miss you, Roxanne."

The brunette scoffed lightly, desperately hiding the fact that he was making her heartbeat faster than normal. She gave his back a gentle pat. "You make it sound like you're going to be gone forever, dummy. ...Stay safe, okay? I'll be right here...waiting for your challenge."

* * *

His backpack was not very heavy, for Steven made sure to only pack the essentials, which consisted of an extra set of clothes, toiletries, some potions and medicine, and of course the badge case as well as a few extra pokeballs.

"You sure you can't stay until your father returns? He told me this morning that his business trip to Slateport will only take a few days," Cesar asked as he watched Steven carefully pack away some of the premade meals he cooked for him. "He's going to miss you an awful lot if you just get up and leave without a word."

Steven shared a look with Beldum, who was floating by his shoulder as he finished packing away the food. He smiled at the chef. "I think I've delayed this trip long enough. I'm afraid if I delay it any further, it will never happen."

Cesar sighed, but relinquished his breath with a defeated smile. "Alright. You have a point, but still…"

" - I plan on writing to my father once in a while." Steven replied, easing the chef's worries. "...I wouldn't say our relationship is completely back to what it was, but maybe that's what's best for us. Relationships that don't change...doesn't that mean that the people in it are failing to change?" He smiled, causing the chef to let out a scoffing chuckle. "He's still my father and I'm still his son. At least that will never change between us."

Stunned by how wise the teen's words were, Cesar stood by speechless for a moment before chuckling once more. "You sure have grown up a lot, Steven, I can tell you that much."

Steven simply laughed behind a closed lip smile as he hoisted the backpack over his shoulders. He shifted his weight between both legs and grinned at Beldum. "Great! Not too heavy!" he exclaimed. Beldum cheered with a high pitched squeak.

"Now don't eat all the food I made you at once! I know you can along with Beldum, but that doesn't mean you should!"

"I got it! I got it!" he said in a jokingly exasperated manner.

"I mean it!" the temperamental chef growled as he followed the teen out of the kitchen and helped him by opening the front doors. "I don't want to see you two starving out there!"

Steven turned on his heel as he walked out the front door of the house. He flashed the family chef a wide, toothy grin and waved. "I'll miss you too, Cesar!" All he heard was a low growl in response from the chef, but Steven knew he meant well.

With that farewell, he was off, leaving the house that he had grown up in.

Steven made it down to the main street and instead of heading directly to the connecting route, he took a sharp left. He had one last person he needed to see before he left Rustboro.

Beldum hovered quietly over its trainer's shoulder as he walked to a part of the city that the steel pokemon had never seen before. It curiously looked all around. The streets were almost empty, with a few businesses opening up just in time for the early morning hours. There appeared to be more flower shops on this street than anywhere else in the city and Beldum saw Steven walk right up to one that had just opened.

The shopkeeper had barely gotten his flower displays set up for the day, but Steven requested just a small, simple bouquet. He paid the man more than he owed, thanking him, then continuing on down the street, a beautiful bouquet of white lilies now in his arms.

"Beldum," Steven finally spoke as they walked through a white iron archway. He looked over his shoulder at his partner pokemon and smiled. "I don't think I ever introduced you to her. My mother...I think she would've liked you a lot."

The small steel-type pokemon curiously turned its attention here and there, seeing only statues and uniformly cut slabs of stone erected from the earth. It then faced Steven once more and chimed, confused.

A soft, gentle laugh came from the young man. "No...she's not...technically here, I guess."

They walked further and arrived at a plot of land slightly uphill. There was only one lone gravestone there and as they approached closer, Beldum could see a name etched on it as well as dates.

_'Kaya Stone'_

Steven knelt down respectfully as he placed the lilies before her grave. His eyes rested on her name for a moment before he closed them. The clean early morning air helped him find some peace as he paid his respects to his mother. When he reopened his eyes, he bowed his head while smiling, "...I wonder if I can see you soon. Maybe during the next meteor shower?"

Beldum listened intently.

He laughed, feeling sheepish about the idea. "It's probably just a dumb superstition, but...I'll keep trying. ...I just want to see you again, Mom."

It was hard to hear Steven, despite how silent the surroundings were. Beldum floated off to the side, staring at the gravestone and then back at its trainer, confused as to why he appeared so heartbroken. Why couldn't he just see her again? Where did she go?

Beldum pondered on these questions before sensing a familiar presence approaching them. It turned, as did its trainer.

"...Dad," Steven breathed out, the surprise written all over his face upon seeing his father standing just a few feet away from him.

Joseph smiled fondly at his son. His eyes flickered away briefly, apprehensive, before he asked, "may I join you?"

An awkward pause settled between them.

"Actually, I was about to leave...Dad," Steven responded, an unnatural cadence in his speech as he tried to deal with this unexpected situation. He touched the strap of his backpack and he saw his father give a befallen, but understanding smile.

"...Of course," Joseph responded, mustering up a tight-lipped smile, desperately trying to hide his unsettled feelings. He twisted and played with his wedding band as he watched Steven stand up. "I'm glad you've come to say goodbye to your mother."

Steven bowed his head, looking away as he spoke. "I thought I should. I haven't been here since her funeral."

Joseph breathed out a chuckling sigh. "That is quite a long time. Can't believe the years flew by this quickly. You were about...this big back then." He bent down slightly to place his hand to his mid-thigh and laughed softly as he attempted to lighten the mood between him and his son. "Now look at you. Your mother would be proud to see you now, tall and just as handsome as your old man."

A wispy, dry chuckle was all that came from Steven, despite his father's jokes.

Joseph caught onto the uncomfortable mood surrounding them and wistfully dropped his hands to his side. "I'm sorry, Steven. I know...it must be quite the surprise to see me here. Don't blame him, but Drake...told me you would be leaving soon on your journey. I purposely made up a business trip excuse today to see if you were going to leave and it turns out I was right." He laughed, brokenhearted, his voice unbearably tense with grief that did not go unnoticed by Steven. "Forgive me, Steven. I wanted to let you leave without confronting you. I didn't want to hold you back any more or give you another reason to stay, but -"

Steven's clenched fists shook slightly by his sides as he kept his head down.

"- ...I really couldn't help myself. It feels wrong to send you off without saying a single word. I don't want you to think ill of me. I do care about you, Steven, but the truth is, I'm not sure if I'm even doing the right thing sometimes. I feel like I'm making the right decisions as a parent, but when your face would fall every time...am I really doing what's right?" Joseph swallowed hard, trying to contain his gutted emotions. His voice broke, finally caving under his overwhelming emotions. "Am I even making the right decision now, I wonder? ...Is it...okay for me to say goodbye to you right now, Steven?"

It was then that Steven realized with a heavy heart that this was what became of his relationship with his father, a man that had always supported him and even traversed a cave just to find his missing son when he was younger. Did he place too much weight on his father's mistakes?

"...Did I do a good job…?"

His heart broke upon hearing his father's desperate need for validation. Steven briefly raised his arm, just slightly, to perhaps offer a reassuring touch for his father. Instead, he let his hand drop to his side once more, finding himself unable to properly translate his feelings into actions.

"Thank you...for coming to see me off...Dad. I'll be sure to write once in a while," Steven replied, pausing frequently so that he kept his emotions under control. He walked past his father, who raised his head as soon as his son was behind him.

Beldum chimed softly upon seeing Joseph's face, tears streaming down his cheeks as every muscle on his face was tense. The pokemon felt sorry for him, but knew that even if it were to try and console him, it would do nothing. Apologetically, Beldum flew on after its trainer, leaving the distressed father behind.

Steven stopped mid-step as soon as Beldum joined him. His eyes lowered in unfiltered shame, knowing that this was not what should be doing. He stole a halfway glance of his father, lowering his head slightly.

"Dad."

Joseph turned his head slightly, hearing his son's voice taking on a gentler tone once more.

"...You did a great job. I know you've done your best for me. You always have."

It was as if hearing his son's words relinquished all the worries and regret Joseph kept locked away inside. His breath caught in his throat, the tightness in his chest released in the form of hot tears. Behind his aged gray eyes was a look of relief and happiness.

Steven briefly lowered his eyes upon hearing his father cry and suddenly felt his own eyes stinging. "...I…" He started to choke on his words and he quickly turned back around, facing away from his father as he tilted his head up. Fearing the tears that threatened to spill out, Steven started to walk away, unable to finish the sentence he had started.

"Steven!" he heard his father call out.

He stopped, frozen in place.

"Don't you go…breaking your leg now." Joseph chuckled, his voice breaking apart only from his sniffling. "You know your old man won't be around to save you out there."

Steven bit down on his bottom lip in a vain attempt to stop it from quivering. He swallowed the hard lump forming in his throat, miserably trying to get rid of it and growing so focused on the task that he only now began to realize the torrent of tears that had escaped his eyes.

His father was always by his side, even when he did not want him there. The sacrifices he made , especially in his childhood, Steven admitted to himself that he had taken him for granted in recent years and suddenly the idea that his father would not be there hit him hard.

Without another word or second to waste, Steven sharply turned on his heel and ran as fast as he could back to his father.

Joseph laughed through his tears as he openly welcomed his son into his arms. He felt Steven's entire body tremble, an onslaught of sobs wracking his throat as he openly, loudly cried into his father's shoulder. Despite the absence of words, Joseph could hear and feel every single raw emotion from his son. He closed his eyes and smiled, accepting every single one as he felt Steven tighten his embrace.

"Have a safe journey, my son."

* * *

Steven was long gone.

The sun was higher up in the sky and most of the morning mist had all, but burned away. Joseph, still remained however, knelt down in front of his dear wife's grave as Drake stood right beside him.

"Did you see it, Joseph?" Drake asked, quietly.

Joseph turned to face his friend and smiled. "That fire you said Steven has? Yes, I believe so. I've never seen his face light up like when we saw him at the Rustboro gym. Is that why you took me there?"

Drake chuckled under his breath, standing beside his friend as he respectfully took off his hat. "You still seemed apprehensive about sending Steven off on his journey. I thought a little more proof was needed."

Joseph exhaled sharply through his nose as he bowed his head. "Steven and I...we're both rather useless, aren't we? If Kaya was still here, she would slap us both upright on the head and tell us to go talk it out with each other."

The Hoenn champion chuckled. "You both can be stubborn like a tauros at times, but I'm glad things worked out. You ought to be careful of that son of yours though. That fire he carries... it burned brightly when he confronted me and even now, it's burning."

"Are you saying my son is dangerous?" Joseph laughed, knowing that it was far from the truth.

"Of course, not," Drake stated, chuckling along. "I see a fire in every trainer that makes it past the Elite Four, but Steven's is different. It's a fire that can burn, but it also warms the people around him. He cares deeply for them and they in turn, will support him." Drake grinned as he shook his head, as if still in disbelief. "I have never seen a pokemon fight so hard for its trainer like his beldum did the other day and I've never seen a trainer dive headfirst into the ocean just to retrieve a piece of paper!"

Joseph heard Drake laughing heartily, displaying his great amusement in his observation of Steven.

"You raised a fine kid, Joseph."

The proud father smiled, closing his eyes gently. "I think I did too."

* * *

**A/N **Steven's mother's name is pronounced "kai-yah." I hope it's a befitting name for a beautiful woman :)

I really hope this chapter wasn't too long or difficult to digest! I try to keep my chapter lengths at around 5 - 6k at most nowadays because I heard it's the ideal length for most readers, but this one ended up exceeding it. I just didn't really know where a good stopping point was haha. Some of my other longfics at 10-12k chapter lengths and I didn't know readers tend to prefer shorter chapters D: I don't know. Let me know what you guys like! I can adapt for the upcoming chapters.

So Steven is finally leaving on his journey! That definitely brings a conclusion to this arc. So chapters 1 - 6 can be considered one arc, chapters 7 - 12 is another. This isn't a formula I'm sticking with, but just wanted to share. :) I also want to mention that I was actually supposed to bring in Brawly in this arc since it seems like he and Roxanne are also friends, but I thought it would take away from Roxanne's spotlight, as well as Steven's. Don't worry, Brawly will show up in the very near future for sure since it's mentioned that he's good friends with Steven in the canon.

**Review responses:**

**Allthingsconsidered99** \- Thank you for your review! Ahhh, I'm so glad you think so about Drake! I was really excited to write about him and include him in this fic. I definitely saw him as another mentor figure in Steven's life! He fits the leadership role as mentor and champion nicely, I think!

**Wolflyn -** Gosh thank you again for your super detailed reviews! I honestly really look forward to them because it's nice to get all excited about Steven's character with another person haha. I really intended for this point in Steven's life to only be around 3 chapters at most, but it felt rushed (and I have gotten comments on my other fics in the past about being too fast-paced and I definitely didn't want to make the same mistake with this fic) so I'm glad all the substance that I'm including is enjoyable to read! Thank you again for the reviews! I'm also really glad to see that the scenes I write have the intended impact :D

**Shikisai-san - **Thank you so much! I was excited to include Drake in this story and I'm glad all the dialogue was fitting for all the characters!

**SceptileBlade -** I agree! It's a huge shame when fics go incomplete. It happened to me quite a bit when I was reading something only to find out it hasn't been updated in 5 years QQ. But I do have this entire fic planned out, from upcoming arcs to the ending. This fic may not get as much attention as my other fics do, but this fic is one I genuinely enjoy spending hours writing because _I_ enjoy doing so. ^^ Hope the ride will be just as enjoyable as me creating it! Thank you for the reviews! And I do not mind the curt nature of your reviews at all. A review is a review and I'm delighted to know that I'm not just shouting into the void haha.


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